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<u><i>Vol. 14, No. 3,420</i> - The American Reporter - <i>May 9, 2008</i></u>
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<dl><dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/1.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>JUNKIE NATION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Just imagine for a minute that you wake up one morning to learn that someone has stolen the arm off of the Statue of Liberty. And with it, her torch. No more will she "lift my lamp beside the golden door." Instead, her great lamp is already shredded; it's on a slow boat to China as we speak. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/2.html><b><I>On Native Ground</I><BR>FORGET THE FLAG PINS - LET'S TALK ABOUT REAL ISSUES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It took a few more weeks than planned, but it's clear the game is over. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/3.html><b><I>American Sports</I><BR>HOW ED HARRIS RESCUED THE MILLER TWINS AND GAVE HOLLYWOOD A FUTURE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Steven Travers</b>
<p> SAN FRANCISCO -- In the mid-to-late '90s, independent films reached what we now see was a one-decade plateau. John Sayles had made a number of successful, low-budget movies. Quentin Tarantino was hotter than a pistol. Harvey Weinstein was said to be the most powerful executive in Hollywood. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/4.html><b><I>Campaign 2008</I><BR>WHY POLLS DON'T WORK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Proloy Bhatta</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- As polling information is distributed widely in the news, and often proved wrong, Americans start to wonder whether the information polsters produce tand they consume is credible. The answer is yes - and no. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/5.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>IT'S 12:54 A.M. - DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE VOTES ARE?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., May 7, 2008, 1:06 A.M. ET -- With the nation's political junkies hanging on the edge of their seats to learn the outcome of the Democratic primary in Indiana yesterday, the folks at CNN are getting pretty angry about the absence of the last 5 percent of the votes from Lake County, Ind., a suburb of Chicago whose partial numbers have gone heavily to Sen. Barack Obama. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/6.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THE DECKERS FAMILY, INC., ANNUAL REPORT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To: All members of Deckers Family, Inc. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/7.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>'M' IS FOR MOTHERHOOD, MISTAKES AND MAGIC</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - "M" is for the million things she gave me. "O" means only that she's growing old. "T" is for the tears she shed to save me. "H" is for her heart as pure as gold. "E" is for her eyes with love-light shining. "R" means right and right she'll always be. Put them all together they spell "Mother," a word that means the world to me. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/8.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>STIMULATING OPINIONS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- What do we do? Stimulate the economy or feather our own nests? The President's "stimulus package," already showing up in people's bank accounts in the form f $600 and $1,200 checks, is a real thing. If we didn't think it would happen, or if we were suspicious of it, we now know it's the real deal. Money showed up in my account that I didn't put there. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/9.html><b><I>Momentum</I><BR>CRUMBCATCHERS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In the Roaring Twenties my grandfather, Diamond Ben, was a flashy guy. He had a taste for Cadillacs. He owned a tux and a diamond stickpin. He had a big house by the beach, and two garages on Broadway. He hung out with celebrities. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/10.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>FOOD SHORTAGES MEAN BIG TROUBLE FOR POOR NATIONS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In the past few months, there have been food riots and social unrest in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Haiti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique, the Philippines and Senegal. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/11.html><b><i>American Opinion</i><br>A PLAN TO ENSURE 9/11 NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by John Errett</b>
<p> PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- The "War on Terror" sparked by the tragic events of 9/11 continues unabated as we enter one of the most important elections in American history. I believe the leading candidates must tell us how they plan to win this war, but disturbingly this campaign issue remains on the back burner. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/12.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>DEMOCRATS READY THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD </b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- And the winner of the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania is... John McCain. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/13.html><b><I>One Woman's World</I><BR>I JUST DON'T GET IT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- If you have two coats, give one to your brother who has none. Feed the hungry. Visit the sick. Take care of the widows and orphans. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/14.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>EMINENT DOMAIN IN THE GOLDEN ISLES</b></a><dd>
<b>BY Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- From my home the "mainland" is a drive across the causeway into Brunswick, Ga. - the gateway to our St. Simons Island and, just a mile or two further south, the entrance to Jekyll Island, the millionaire's playground of the 1930's and the jewel among these Golden Isles of Georgia. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/15.html><b><I>American Opinion</i><br>TUNE UP YOUR TAXES WITH THE CELLO</b></a><dd>
<b>by Rebecca L. Hein</b>
<p> CASPER, Wyo. -- I never liked signing a tax form for which I merely supplied the W2s and receipts yet relied on someone else's knowledge. So over the past 15 years I've learned the requirements and filled out all of the forms myself. It hasn't been easy, but this task has been smoothed out and accomplished in good part by my lifetime of cello playing. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/16.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>BLAME IT ON THE RAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It's been a hard day, I said to my friend and curmudgeon-for-hire, Karl. It's Monday. I hate Mondays. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/17.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>FROZEN MOMENTS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It's become a cliché to be reminded to live in the moment: you can't go back and no one knows what lies ahead, so we are to live in the moment. And, as if we received a poke in the ribs, we're expected to understand, "that's why they call it the "present." Get it? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/18.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>DAFFODIL SLUT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Perhaps because I've been down with some sort of flu bug, the past few days have been particularly exquisite. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/19.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>COMING TO YOUR TOWN, TODAY ONLY: A CLINTON</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa.--The Clintons are patrolling Pennsylvania as if they're border collies herding all the stray sheep into the flock. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/20.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>OBAMA AND CLINTON ON THE JOB</b></a><dd>
<b>Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M., April 21, 2008 -- From half a nation away I gaze at Pennsylvania on the eve of its primary, and nod with appreciation at the unreported grassroots campaigns of both Senators Clinton and Obama. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/21.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>DON'T MESS WITH CHILDREN IN TEXAS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Let's pretend that a few power-hungry, self-deluded, sexually degenerate women are operating as self-appointed leaders of a religious group called Church of Jesus Christ of Select Sisterhood. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/22.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>OBAMA'S WHACKED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It never ceases to amaze me to see the lengths that the press and the politicians go to in trying to pretend that class doesn't exist in America. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/23.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>I WANNA BE A COWBELL HERO</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I'm becoming a guitar hero. A veritable rock god. With only three fingers. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/24.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>HOUSES BUILT ON SAND</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The other day I heard a story about a Zen master who visited Yosemite National Park, where he stood looking up at a great waterfall. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/25.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>TIME TO TAKE A MOMENT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Take a "timeout" with me and let's talk about time. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/26.html><b><i>Medicine Today</i><br>OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS SPREADS DEADLY STAPH.</b></a><dd>
<b>by Allan Sosin, M.D.</b>
<p> IRVINE, Calif. -- the deadly MRSA - methicillin-resistant <i>staph aureus</i> - is a common cause of infections involving the skin, respiratory and urinary tracts, and the bloodstream. But smart doctoring helps prevent its spread, and a simple, inexpensive nasal spray may be one of the best ways to avoid it. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/27.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- We're a people willing to put labels on other people whose opinions do not reflect our own. So, I would expect that as you read, you will label me either a heathen or a holy joe. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/28.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>I STILL DON'T HAVE A TOPIC</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Hi Buddy, what do you want?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/29.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>PROGRESS? FIVE YEARS AFTER BAGHDAD'S FALL, THERE ISN'T MUCH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The dog-and-pony show that was the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker is now done. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/30.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>LOVE IN THE TIME OF SPRING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- On Tuesday, while the Red Sox were getting their 2007 World Series rings I cried like a baby, <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/31.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>MURDER IN AN ALASKAN FOREST</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- No one - at least no human - knows his name, or if he had a name. We don't know where or when he was born. We know nothing about his life. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/32.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>DR. PHIL NEEDS A SHRINK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I’ve had my fill of Dr. Phil. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/33.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>I'LL TAKE FRIES WITH THAT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- We are food-obsessed in this country - how it's made, where it comes from, whether it's organic, and how much we eat - or, more importantly, what we don't eat. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/34.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>GAMES OF LIFE AND MAKE-BELIEVE</b></a><dd>
<b>Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- There are neither photographs, names nor ethnic identities associated with the story shocking the nation. About nine third-graders (do I dare refer to them as a "band?") went to schoool carrying a kid-sized bundle of paraphernalia that looked like gear carried by rapists, stalkers, and other mean-street hoods who plan to carry out dastardly deeds. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/35.html><b><I>Momentum</i><br>YOU SO BEAUTIFUL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Running through my head for the past few weeks have been the lyrics of an old boogie-woogie song by Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson. It's called "Roll Em Pete," and you may know the chorus: "You so beautiful you got to die someday/Honey, you so beautiful you got to die someday/All I want, a little lovin' just 'fore you pass away." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/36.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THE NUMBERS SAY IT'S ALL OVER, HILLARY </b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Sen. Hillary Clinton doggedly fights on in her quest to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. Even though Sen. Barack Obama has raised more money, received more votes and has more delegates than Clinton, she and her allies in the party and the media believe she can win. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/37.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>WHEN A LESSON COMES TOO LATE TO LEARN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It's not easy being a "know it all" when the message hits you and you finally realize everybody else was right. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/38.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>MARRIAGE WITH BENEFITS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Sex, sex everywhere, and not a drop to drink. How did America become so schizophrenic with its toxic mix of Victorian morality and girls-gone-wild sleaze and licentiousness? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/39.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>IN IRAQ, THE BUTCHER'S BILL KEEPS GROWING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/40.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>GOING TO 'OUR KIND' OF CHURCH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Guilty by association. Our own kind. Those of like mind. Credible identity yardsticks for who we are ... or mere words? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/41.html><b><I>The Willies</i><br>WHEN THE BANKS ROB THE FED</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, March 23, 2008 -- The countless billions of bad mortgage debt that used to be the responsibility of giant Wall Street investment banks is becoming your responsibility as a taxpayer, and there's damn little to be done about it. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/42.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>THE REAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR PRESIDENT ARE ...</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- If you are still having a hard time with your choice for a presidential candidate I've designed a flawless formula that makes this presidential election much easier. I share it with you hoping it will relieve your political agony as it has mine. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/43.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>THE HARD-TOLD TRUTH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- The meaning of "ill-gotten gains" is something I've understood well for a very long time. It came to me again last night when I saw a preview of a new television program called "Nothing but the Truth." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/44.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>OUR WELFARE STATE FOR THE RICH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Listen to conservative talk show pundits and blowhards. Listen to any of the political candidates who proudly amend their names with the phrase "conservative Republican." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/45.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>IRAN WAR MORE LIKELY WITH FALLON'S EXIT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's been overshadowed by the media hysteria over the fall of New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer and the fuss over Barack Obama's pastor, but the resignation of Navy Adm. William Fallon, the top American military commander in the Middle East, is a possible harbinger of bad things to come. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/46.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>NO THROUGH LINE, BABY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Where's the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_line">through line</A HREF>? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/47.html><b><i>American Opinion</i><br>THE POWER AND PASSION OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Loretta Napoleoni</b>
<p> LONDON -- The collapse of Carlyle Capital and the $2-a-share buyout by JPMorgan Chase of Bear Stearns Cos. may go down in history as the key events signaling the end of the "roaring '90s", which have lasted into the 21st century. We've seen nearly two decades of easy money, cheap credit and soaring global debt. Exceptional events - such as the Fed for the first time in 50 years throwing a monetary lifeline to a bank on the verge of bankruptcy - constitute the choreography of the closing scenes of this financial catastrophe which so much resembles a modern-day Greek tragedy. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/48.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>SKITTLES, THE GATEWAY DRUG</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It just doesn't do to break the rules, especially when you're an elected office holder. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/49.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>THE LOST HOUR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- They call it Daylight Savings Time, but how can you call it "saved" if you find it at the end of one day and lose it at the beginning of the next? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/50.html><b><i>American Speeches</i><br>"A MORE PERFECT UNION"</b></a><dd>
<b>by Sen. Barack Obama</b>
<p> "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/51.html><b><i>An AR Special Report</i><br>THE SOUND OF WALL STREET FALLING - OR NOT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, March 17, 2008, 4:40AM ET - A few hours from now, the U.S. stock markets will open and an historic day will unfold. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/52.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>AFTER 5 YEARS, WE'RE STILL LIED TO ABOUT IRAQ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Next week is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And it is likely that sometime in the next couple of weeks, the 4,000th American soldier will die in Iraq. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/53.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - It's 1931, and a 14-year-old girl is standing alone on a stage. She's small and lively with dark curly hair, widespread hazel eyes, slender wrists and an open, eager face filled with the wonder of performing. Her name is Rose, and one day she will be my mother. But now she is performing an Eugene O'Neill monologue called "Before Breakfast" for a ladies' club in a wealthy suburb of Long Island. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/54.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>COMFORTABLE WITH MYSELF</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I'm not sure but I think I may be socially incorrect. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/55.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>ENOUGH FOR A WAR, NOT FOR A PEOPLE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, the National Governors Assn. met in Washington, D.C. One of the tasks the NGA had on its agenda was to ask President Bush to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects as a way to stimulate the economy. He rejected their pleas out of hand, claiming that infrastructure projects wouldn't offer any short-term economic boost. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/56.html><b><I>Brasch Words</I><BR>BEWARE THE SELF-REVERENTIAL PRESS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Shortly before the primary votes this past week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter called Sen. Barack Obama's surge to the Democratic nomination "inevitable." It also called for Hillary Clinton to "start her campaign for Senate majority leader." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/57.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>A CONVERSATION WITH MY CAT</b></a><dd>
<b>Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Normally, when the cat starts his evening rant of meowing continuously until he makes his point, I just take it as long as I can, pick him up, and put him in the garage for the night. He doesn't want to go, but the meowing stops and I don't care if he likes it or not. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/58.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>OUT OF STRUGGLE, ART</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/59.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>HOW TO PREDICT SUPER TUESDAY II WINNERS? ONLINE SEARCH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Jay Bhatti</b>
<p> NEW YORK, March 4, 2008, 7:00PM ET -- With the outcomes of the Texas, Vermont, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries to be decided tonight, how possible is it that online searching can predict who will win tonight's primaries? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/60.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>DON'T VOTE; IT ENCOURAGES THEM</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Call me angry and disgusted but don't call me un-American because I won't be voting come November. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/61.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>BUSH AND THE KEYBOARD COMMANDOS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the days tick down toward the eventual departure of President George W. Bush from the White House, it's a hopeful sign that most Americans are no longer moved by his Administration's constant exploitation of terrorism for political gain. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/62.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>WHICH AMERICA DO YOU LIVE IN?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's a little confusing. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/63.html><b><i>Make My Dat</i><br>THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/64.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>FIDEL RETIRES: NOW THE COLD WAR IS REALLY OVER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Maybe now, we can finally say the Cold War is over. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/65.html><b><i>Make My Dat</i><br>THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/66.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>POLITICS IS NO PARTY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Are you having a hard time focusing your eyes? Do you have faint red spots all over your body? Is there a ringing in your ears and do you see wavy lines when you look at your television set? Do your hands shake when you try to hold a cup of coffee? And have you recently been forgetting what day of the week it is - or what year? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/67.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>FOR BETTER OR WORSE ... A LOT WORSE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/68.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>YOU CALL THESE RIGHTS?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- When you express an opinion you hope to persuade others to your point of view. It doesn't always happen but still, opinion writers try. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/69.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE BRIDGE WOMAN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/70.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>OBAMA AND MY GENERATION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/71.html><b><I>The Willies:</i><br>WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/72.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/73.html><b><i>Reporting: Panama</i><br>PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES</b></a><dd>
<b>Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/74.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/75.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. <b>Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1</b> <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/76.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/77.html><b><I>The Willies</i><br>AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/78.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/79.html><b><i>Reporting: Florida</i><br>SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/80.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/81.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/82.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/83.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/84.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>SUPER TUESDAY BLUES </b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/85.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/86.html><b><I>Campaign 2008</I><BR>AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/87.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>STAND BY YOUR WOMAN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/88.html><b><i>An AR Special</i><br>SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ahmar Mustikhan</b>
<p> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/89.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. — Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/90.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -— In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/91.html><b><I>Campaign 2008</I><BR>CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/92.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/93.html><b><i>Passings: Suharto</i><br>DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG</b></a><dd>
<b>by Andreas Harsono</b>
<p> JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suharto¹s house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos¹ residence on Cendana Street. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/94.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>I REMEMBER YOU</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/95.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>POLLING SUBURBIA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Come in. Have some coffee with me. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/96.html><b><I>Make My Day</I><BR>PROJECT PLEASE KILL ME NOW</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I hate myself for what I'm about to say: I've been watching Project Runway. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/97.html><b><i>Campaign '08</i><br>FREE SPEECH REBELS READY TO ROCK IN DENVER AT 2008 DNC</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Jan. 25, 2008 -- "Anyone here from the Police Department, FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service or any other law enforcement organization?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/98.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THAT 7O'S SHOW, STAGFLATION, MAY BE MAKING A COMEBACK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Shag carpets. Avocado-colored appliances. Leisure suits. Cars called the Pinto, thE Vega and the Gremlin. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/99.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE PATRIARCHY FIGHTS BACK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The <i>Wall Street Journal</i> last week had a story about conservative churches ostracizing "sinners" in order to maintain "church discipline." On Sunday, a host of obituaries celebrated the career of pioneering journalist Frances Lewine, 86. Also on Sunday, <i>The New York Times</i> Magazine ran a photo essay on female genital mutilation in Indonesia. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/100.html><b><i>Reporting: The Media</i><br>EDITOR FIRED? AT THE L.A. TIMES, IT'S HARDLY NEWS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ron Kenner</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 23, 2008 -- The latest big "shake-up" in Los Angeles wasn't an earthquake. It was the firing Monday of <i>Los Angeles Times</i> editor James O'Shea, the second editor in 14 months, and the third in three years, to be forced out for resisting budget cuts that would dumb down his newsroom. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/101.html><b><i>World Financial Crisis</i><br>HOW A HOLIDAY SAVED THE U.S. ECONOMY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 21, 2008 [Updated 1/22/08, 4:40PM ET]-- Anyone with money in the U.S. stock market has a debt of gratitude due and payable today to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to the much-criticized members of Congress who supported making his birthday a national holiday that closed banks, schools, government offices and stock markets. For the second time in 14 years, Monday's holiday honoring the assassinated civil rights leader spared Americans what could have been hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/102.html><b><i>Editorial</i><br>FOR DR. KING, THE BEST TRIBUTE IS A VOTE FOR OBAMA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 21, 2008 -- Can there be a better, more fitting tribute to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., than a vote cast for Sen. Barack Obama as the next President of the United States? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/103.html><b><I>One Woman's World</I><BR>YOU TOO ARE SOMEBODY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- What part, if any, have we, the people, played in the ongoing craziness of one Britney Spears? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/104.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>IMPONDERABLES OF THE NEW YEAR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M., Jan. 20, 2008 -- Reflecting upon the first few weeks of a new year, one is only certain that a list of imponderables lacks many more things we don't know or can't explain for these American times. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/105.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>DOES IT MATCH MY SHOES?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- My wife recently committed the heinous, unpardonable crime of asking me to carry her purse. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/106.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>STRAIT OF HORMUZ: ARABIC FOR 'GULF OF TONKIN?'</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -— The Bush Administration still appears determined to go to war with Iran. By sheer luck, the alleged confrontation between three U.S. Navy warships and five Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 6 did not turn into the spark that started a war. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/107.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>BACK HOME IN A BOX</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. —- When America invaded Iraq in 2003, the reports from the front lines were as fascinating as they were revolting. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/108.html><b><i>American Sports</i><br>JOHNNY GRANT PLAYED FOR THE ANGELS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Steven Travers</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- Yankees manager Ralph Houk had a unique challenge to deal with in 1961. With the expansion of the American League to include the Los Angeles Angels, his New York Yankees faced 7,700-mile road trips. So, prior to an 11-day, 12-game swing to the West Coast, Houk advised his charges prior to the first stop, in Minnesota, not to turn their watches back. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/109.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>THE DISCONNECTED MEDIA</b></a><dd>
<b>Walter M. Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Add pundits, pollsters, and the press to the list of losers in the New Hampshire primary. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/110.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>POLITICAL HEAT BRINGS EARLY SPRING CLEANING TO THE ROCKIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Jan. 14, 2008 -- The political climate here in the intra-mountain west heated up this week, and it was not global warming or the brilliant Rocky Mountain sunshine. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/111.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>SHE CAN'T POSSIBLY BE WORSE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- She is Woman. Hear her roar. Picked herself up off the floor and stood by her man even though she had sworn previously that she was not a "little Tammy Wynette." Brushed herself off and faced the entire world, humiliated and betrayed. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/112.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>WHO'S WINNING THE PRIMARIES? THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Yes, it's only Iowa and New Hampshire. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/113.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>A PEOPLE-WATCHER'S PARADISE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- The 6th Floor waiting room was plush. The wait was interminable but no one was complaining. We were at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and John was waiting for a routine annual exam following the normal laboratory tests. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/114.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THE PRICE OF LOVE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- They say you can't put a price tag on love. That true love is more valuable than money. That money can't buy you happiness. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/115.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>WHY THE WRITERS STRIKE MATTERS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- When it comes to the writers strike, I have two dogs in this hunt. Maybe three. Or four, if you count my innate love of underdogs. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/116.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>IS IT ALL OVER BUT THE CRYING?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla. -- When Sen. Hillary Clinton escaped from oblivion last night, did she only delay a later day of reckoning with voters who have tired of her? Frankly, I doubt that things will be ever be as bad for her again. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/117.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>WASHING OUT YOUR BRAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Have you and I been programmed to think in certain ways? Have we been brainwashed? Is there such a thing as well-intentioned mind control? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/118.html><b><i>American Essay</i><br>'CODE WORDS' ARE SHORTCUT TO CULTURES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Boye Lafayette De Mente</b>
<p> PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Defining people by their race while virtually ignoring their ethnicity has always been both dumb and dangerous, but now, finally, the importance of understanding cultures is rapidly becoming a new mantra for business leaders, diplomats and politicians. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/119.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>IT IS WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It's the first column of the new year, and faithful Make My Day readers know what that means: Lake Superior State University's List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse, and General Uselessness. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/120.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>IOWA SHOULD BE PROUD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla. -- If you were standing here in front of me and asked me how I felt about the outcome of the Iowa Democratic caucus, I probably wouldn't be able to talk. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/121.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- A song by Frank Loesser in "Guys and Dolls" called "More I Cannot Wish You" has been running through my mind as the new year takes shape in the snow outside my window. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/122.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>IT'S NOT HOW YOU START: IT'S HOW YOU FINISH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- This title came up while I was checking sources for what I want to write about. However, it didn't come up as a song, as I had always known it, but as the title of a book written by Gillian Hennessy-Ortega, subtitled "The Success Secrets of a Top Member of the Mary Kay Independent Sales Force." Yawn. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/123.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>AN OPINIONATED WOMAN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I am very tired of being criticized for having strong opinions on major issues. And of far greater significance, I am extremely tired of males so fearful of a strong woman like Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan's former prime minister) they murder her on a day full of sunshine before the eyes of little children, hopeful Muslim women ... and the world. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/124.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>TOP 10 UNDER REPORTED NEWS STORIES OF 2007</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, New Mexico, Jan. 3, 2007 -- The major news outlets have spoken, and U.S. and international news consumers now know the "expert" view of the Top 10 News Stories of 2007. But they left out a few dozen major stories. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/125.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>IT'S 'LIGHTS OUT' FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In spite of playing a major role in driving up energy costs, driving down housing prices and generally screwing up the American economy, securities firms on Wall Street handed out nearly $38 billion in bonuses last month. According to Bloomberg News, that's a new record for holiday largesse on Wall Street. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/126.html><b><i>American Memoir</i><br>BENAZIR WAS NOT AS THE WHITE HOUSE AND MEDIA PORTRAYED HER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Saleem Khan</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The violent death of Benazir Bhutto on Dec. 27 is the latest event in a culture of violence that has been steadily spreading in the body politics in Pakistan. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/127.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>HOW OBAMA WILL WIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Jan. 1, 2008 -- Federico Peña, national co-chair of Ill. Sen. Barak Obama's campaign, provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a presidential election to the American Reporter Monday, putting a New Year's Eve exclamation point to a momentous year in politics. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/128.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>CHARTING A NEW COURSE FOR AMERICA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> LAKE WORTH, Fla., Jan. 4, 2008 -- A black American politician looked a predominantly white gaggle of journalists straight in the lens eye, and defied conventional wisdom in a nation with a predominantly white electorate. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/129.html><b><i>Editorial</i><br>AMERICAN REPORTER ENDORSEMENTS: EDWARDS AND McCAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Dec. 30, 2007 -- One of the great tragedies of the American experience is its two-party system, which was neither contemplated nor preferred by our Founding Fathers, and which President George Washington urged Americans in his Farewell Address to avoid at all costs. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/130.html><b><i>Andy Oram Reports</i><br>PRIVACY 2007: HIDING IN THE CROWD </b></a><dd>
<b>by Andy Oram</b>
<p> CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - Three issues recently highlighted in the news lay out privacy risks that modern Americans face on three fronts: from our own government, from faceless criminals, and from the companies we turn to for most of our purchases and services. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/131.html><b><i>Passings</i><br>BENAZIR BHUTTO LEFT A LIFELONG IMPRESSION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> I met Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated this morning in the largest cities in Pakistan, Rawalpindi. It was at the 1972 Indo-Pak Summit Conference in Simla, India, high in the Himalayas not far from the borders of Pakistan, India and Tibet. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/132.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE GODDESS OF SERENDIPITY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Winter is the time of cold and dark, when we implore all our gods and goddesses to bring back the light and warmth of the sun. So I thought I might put in a plug for the goddess I worship most. Her name is Serendipity. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/133.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>LET'S KEEP CHRISTMAS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- 'Tis the season for tolerating and being tolerated. For bell ringers and carol singers. Santa sleighs and days rattling with wrapping paper; tree lights that won't work; and "It won't be the same without Mama." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/134.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THINGS NOT TO DO IN COLLEGE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- People who have known me for a couple years know me to be thoughtful and deliberate in my reactions to a situation. I carefully measure my response, weighing the pros and cons, before finally saying what I think. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/135.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>E.P.A. RULES SPARK EMERGENCE OF 'NEW BREED' OF G.O.P. GOVERNORS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Dec. 20, 2007 -- Florida's popular Republican Governor Charlie Crist took a day off to go fishing in the Gulf of Mexico for kingfish recently, and he won a rare accolade from the <i>St. Petersburg Times</i> outdoor editor, Terry Tomalin, who tagged along. Crist, Tomalin said, is "Not left, not right, but a new breed, for a new time." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/136.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>VERMONT SWIMS AGAINST THE FREE MARKET TIDE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - The Vermont Chamber of Commerce loves to gripe about how Vermont's taxes are too high, its regulations are too onerous and how the state legislature needs to do something about both. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/137.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>BLOOD ON THE CONVENTION FLOOR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Dec. 18, 2007 -- With three weeks to go to the Iowa caucuses and 6 more days to the New Hampshire primary, both parties are facing the kind of uncertainty that makes American democracy a vital, exciting thing and stirs long-suppressed faint hopes that the party conventions this year will be wide-open, knock-down, drag-out battles for the respective nominations. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/138.html><b><I>Momentum</i><br>YOUR PRIVATE LITTLE BUBBLE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - He had Special Forces written all over him - a big beefy guy with a hard body and a military haircut. He was wearing a t-shirt with a big peace sign on it made out of weapons. What didn't jibe was the gold around his neck and the heavy gold watch on his wrist. So maybe Blackwater. I noticed him because he was playing air guitar, mouthing silent words and shaking his body to a heavy metal tune that no one else could hear. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/139.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>LIONS: 0, CHRISTIANS: 100</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Christ is still in Christmas. They have tried to "X" him out for a couple of generations, but this year it's Merry Christmas all over again. There may be more Santa Claus than Baby Jesus displays, but it's still all about one solitary birth. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/140.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>WHY ARE WE PAYING FOR THIS?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- When was the last time you had $20 million to spend? When was the last time you got to ride in a chauffeur-driven limo, a Mercedes, or in the plush lead bus in a caravan of buses traveling all over the United States, staying in the best motels, eating at the best restaurants - and getting your huge salary paid even though you missed months of work? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/141.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- <i>Christmas is a time of traditions. Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and Erik curled up in the corner in a fetal ball, sobbing "<i>Pa-rum pum pum pum</i>." To help explain why he does this, we're renewing another Make My Day tradition, reprinting his annual Christmas column</i>. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/142.html><b><I>On Native Ground</I><BR>WHY ROMNEY HAS TO PANDER TO THE GOP'S RELIGIOUS RIGHT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- One of these days, people in public life might start following George Carlin's commandment on religion - thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/143.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>EXCLUSION FROM DEBATE ANGERS KUCINICH'S WIFE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Dec. 14, 2007 -- Elizabeth Kucinich is mad, and this roving ambassador for her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, wants everyone to know. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/144.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>MIGHT I SUGGEST BLOOMBERG?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Yes, there is a candidate who doesn't make me want to throw up or cringe in embarrassment or wail in futility or duck for cover or check to see if my wallet is still in my purse. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/145.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>SOPHISTICATED LADIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It was about this time last year that our friendly neighborhood bartender asked if I'd sample the special cocktail prepared for the Christmas menu. I had just witnessed the work he put into measuring, shaking with ice, adding fizz, then egg whites for foam, now stirring slowly, letting it settle and, after that, pouring it into a goblet with one hand and adding a few drops of grenadine to the mixture with the other. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/146.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>LOU DOBBS FOR PRESIDENT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- My name is Elizabeth Andrews and I approved the following message: <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/147.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>SIT ON SANTA-BOT'S LAP</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Microsoft killed Santa Claus. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/148.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> DROPPING THE BABY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Hank, now 8 years old, had had one of the most exciting days of his life. It was his first train ride. Hank's father and a business partner had taken him by train from Baltimore to New York City. And the strange swirl of activity of New York, a huge city, far larger than anything he could have imagined, had been like stepping onto another world. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/149.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>PREDATORS AND PREY: OUR CASINO ECONOMY IN ACTION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It has been said that the only difference between Wall Street and Las Vegas is that in Vegas, you get a buffet and a floor show. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/150.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>ROMNEY SPEECH MUST WALK A FINE LINE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Dec. 6, 2007 -- The director of <A HREF="http://www.amormonpresident.com/">"A Mormon President,"</A HREF> a new film examining bias against the Mormon Church in this country, warned today that Presidential candidate Mitt Romney "has to hit a home run" in Thursday's highly anticipated speech about his Mormon faith. He will deliver <A HREF="http://www.mittromney.com/">the speech</A HREF> at 10:30 a.m. EST at the Bush Library in College Station, Tex., <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/151.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>WE'RE KILLIN' ALL THE BEES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Where does content come from, Mommy? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/152.html><b><i>AR Presidential Profile</i><br>DETERMINED, STEADY KUCINICH QUADRUPLES SUPPORT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea and Ted Manna</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Dec. 5, 2007 -- It's been a long time coming. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH, 10th), the former mayor of Cleveland who is serving his fifth term in the House of Representatives has quadrupled his standing in the polls, according to the current USA Today/Gallup Poll. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/153.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Two women looked out from behind the bars. One washed the windows. One hung the stars. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/154.html><b><i>Campaign 2008: GOP CNN/YouTube Debate</i><br>IN THE WHIRL: RUMORS, BOUNCERS AND A BRAWL IN THE SPIN ROOM</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 28, 2007 -- One of the hottest items at the CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate here Wednesday night was not on stage - it was snapping back and forth through the blogosphere and its teeming representatives at the Mahaffey Theater's media filing room. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/155.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>IF CHAVEZ STUMBLES, OTHERS WILL CHEER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> (<b><i>Editor's Note:</i></b> In a long, nationally televised address televised monitored in Florida, President Hugo Chavez told supporters his package of "reforms" has lost in Sunday's nationwide referendum, saying "Ahora, no podimos" - "For now, we cannot [continue with the proposed reforms]." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/156.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>SCOTT McCLELLAN PROVIDES ANOTHER REASON TO IMPEACH BUSH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- With less than 14 months left in power, the Bush Administration is doing its best to make sure its members can escape town before the indictments are issued. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/157.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>IT'S CLOSING TIME</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- America twice hitched its star to a drunk, albeit a dry one, and now it's coming on close to closing time. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/158.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>BUSH'S 'CONVENIENT TRUTH'</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter M. Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The man whom the people elected in 2000 to be president was in the temporary residence of the man whom the Supreme Court anointed. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/159.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> STOPPING CERTAIN DEATH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- A recent decision to build a suicide prevention barrier on the Cold Spring Bridge near Santa Barbara, Calif., has stirred opposition from a small but vocal group calling themselves "Friends of the Bridge." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/160.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>NO MORE THREE-CARD MONTE FOR YOU, KID!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- When I became a dad, the last thing I ever dreamed I would worry about was my kids and gambling. Sure, they would gamble whether they made it to the bathroom in time (they've won more than they lost), or whether they could sneak candy without being caught (they can't). <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/161.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>'VALUES' HYPOCRISY IS TONIGHT'S CHALLENGE FOR ROMNEY, GIULIANI</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 28, 2007 -- There's a haunting image from the Denver Democratic Convention walk-through for the media that keeps going through my mind when I consider the current round of debates. In Denver, near the Wynkoop Brewery that hosted a terrific media reception the night before the walk-through, there were two bordellos before the turn of the century whose madams were at war with one another. Eventually, their dispute was escalated into a deadly duel, and the two women faced off as the single object of their affections watched. The pistol shots rang out and one of them fell dead - the victim was the boyfriend. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/162.html><b><i>One Woman;s World</i><br>AND THE RAPES GO ON ...</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- An evil brother sleeps tonight on a narrow cot in a narrow cell in St. George, Utah. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/163.html><b><i>American Spiorts</i><br>MAKING THE CASE FOR USC'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BID</b></a><dd>
<b>by Steven Travers</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- The 2007 college football season has seen every surprise that can be imagined, but there are more in store, folks. One of those is that the Southern California Trojans, considered down and out just a few weeks ago, can still win the National Championship. There are several scenarios in which this can occur. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/164.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>A MESS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION TO CLEAN UP</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Like many Americans, I'm looking forward to Jan. 20, 2009, when President George W. Bush leaves the White House for the last time. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/165.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THIS THANKSGIVING, RIGHT NOW</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- This is a hard Thanksgiving. People are dying who shouldn't be dying. People are being held prisoner in places we can't imagine, and being tortured in our names. People are cold and hungry here, in the richest nation on earth. The dollar is falling. Gas prices are rising. Our economic and political futures are uncertain. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/166.html><b><i>The American Way</i><br>A THANKSGIVING PROMISE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- When those first Americans bowed their heads in thankful prayer, could they have envisioned the country they were starting? Did they look at some empty seats at their bountiful table, as many Americans will do today, and wonder whether there would ever be a time of peace and good will? Did they forsee a country born of war, their manifest destiny sustained by conflict and conquest? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/167.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>CO-CHAIRS ON CANDIDATES: IT'S A ROLL OF THE DICE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Nov. 20, 2007 - The national campaign co-chairmen of both top Democratic Presidential candidates weighed in with their opinions about the CNN debate Friday in exclusive interviews with The American Reporter, each claiming that the race is far from over and that their candidates will continue to gain ground over their opponents. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/168.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> HOLIDAY BLUES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- "I'm supposed to be happy! So where is the happiness?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/169.html><b><i>American Essay</i><br>THE CHRISTIAN WITHIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Col. David Antoon, USAF (Ret.)</b>
<p> ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Forty-two years ago, at the age of 18, I took the oath of office on my first day as an Air Force Academy cadet. The mission of the academy was not only to train future leaders for the Air Force but for America as well, because, in the end, most academy graduates do not serve full military careers. The honor code became an integral part of everyday life. These are the values that I, and most graduates of the 1960s and early '70s, took with us from our four years there. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/170.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE COMING RESOURCE WARS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I always thought it would be a cold day in hell before I gave GPresident eorge W. Bush credit for having brains, but now I'm not so sure. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/171.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>AMERICA SQUANDERED MONEY AND TIME IN ENERGY FIGHT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here's a statistic that should make your blood boil. According to <i>The Washington Post</i>, oil consumers have paid nearly $5 trillion more for crude oil than they did just five years ago. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/172.html><b><i>T.S. Kerrigan</i><br>IS HILLARY A BITCH?</b></a><dd>
<b>by T.S. Kerrigan</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- As if he didn't have enough problems with his campaign, Sen. John McCain is now being charged with insensitivity and evasiveness in not responding more directly to a woman in South Carolina who asked in respect to Hillary Clinton, "How do we beat the bitch?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/173.html><b><i>American Insight</i><br>SOLDIERS HATE WAR MOST</b></a><dd>
<b>by Douglas Laipple, M.D.</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- A patient, who has been directly and indirectly affected by the deaths of servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan, recently chastised me for having been in the Army, saying that she was against war and that I and my fellow veterans should be ashamed of ourselves for perpetuating the deaths of other human beings. My answer to her was along these lines: <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/174.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>TWO OF A KIND</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- My grandmother would have said "The pot is calling the kettle black." My mother would have sighed and said "There's something rotten in Denmark." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/175.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>TIME OUT FOR A SURVEY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A courtesy call following auto repair is routine, and other services follow up by asking for a few minutes of your time to answer a brief survey. Well, they're trying to please the customers and if I can help toward that end, I do. I always offer my honest opinions. Of course, the companies who provide this are usually perfect anyway and just want me to know exactly how perfect they are by having me answer "excellent" five times during a brief conversation. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/176.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>'TWAS THE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The holiday season is right around the corner, and the stores have had their Christmas decorations out since late July. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/177.html><b><i>Poetry</i><br>TO A STRANGER IN MY LAND</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> LANTANA, FLA. (THANKSGIVING DAY, 2007)--For whatever reasons a morning trip to Dunkin' Donuts motivated me to write my first poem since high school, or perhaps college. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/178.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>2008 CONVENTION PREVIEW BRINGS QUESTIONS FOR DEAN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna and Joe Shea</b>
<p> DENVER, Nov. 13, 2007 -- The Democratic National Convention Committee opened their arms to the media Tuesday during a media planning tour at Denver's Pepsi Center, but soon found their hands full with questions about the role of online media, the Florida delegate squabble and even the food. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/179.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Albert described himself. "I'm a hopeless case. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/180.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>PUNCHES, CHARGES AND CHEERS AT A GIULIANI RALLY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Nov. 11, 2007 -- The event at the Loveland Coffee Shop here was meant to be nothing more thasn a political sop to star-struck local contributors outside Denver who longed for the sight of America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani. But an innocuous meet-and-greet that attracted an overflow crowd suddenly turned ugly when Giuliani supporters grew antagonistic and abusive towards a small group of demonstrators, punching one. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/181.html><b><i>American Insight</i><br>REFORMING A DEFORMED HEALTH CARE SYSTEM</b></a><dd>
<b>by Douglas Laipple, M.D.</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- We doctors are frequently asked, particular during election campaigns, what we think needs to be done in the way of health-care reform. Although I wish the question would be asked of doctors a lot more and politicians, lawyers and insurance company executives a lot less, I doubt that will happen. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/182.html><b><I>One Woman's World</i><br>HAVE YOU MET THE REAL AMERICANS?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I believe in Santa Claus. His name is Bob, or Ray, or Pack Rat ... and I believe in Earth Angels. Those that I know personally are called Thelma and Anne and Debbie and Belinda and Tammy and Mary Ann and Debra and about a dozen more that for some odd reason always seem to fly by if I need something. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/183.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>THE PENDULUM SWINGS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It's only because I've lived long enough to see the pendulum swing from lurking dangers to miraculous cures - and then, darn it, back again. Oh, how wonderful it felt to be alive in the age when fluoride was in our drinking water, our toothpaste ("Look, Ma, no cavities") our mouthwash and an integral part of our semi-annual dental checkup. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/184.html><b><i>Passing: Norman Mailer</i><br>A MAN OF MANY WORDS, MANY BOOKS, MANY FRIENDS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla. -- "I really like your handshake," Norman said. "Do you mind if I just stand here and shake your hand?" I don't remember what I said, but we stood there for a few seconds, and then a very, very strange thing happened. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/185.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>MY AMERICA DOESN'T BELIEVE IN TORTURE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It seems incredible to me that in this country, at this time, we are debating what constitutes torture and whether it is okay to torture others. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/186.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> MY TRANQUILIZERS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- "How could this happen to me?" JoAnn wondered. She suspected that somehow she had become hooked on her tranquilizer, Ativan. She felt okay when she had her pills - even normal some of the time. But after four or five hours at most, she felt she was becoming a nervous wreck again and couldn't wait to get to her next tranquilizer. Clearly, she couldn't get through a single day without the pills. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/187.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT DEADLY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- What is it about zero tolerance that turns school administrators into zombies who enforce their rules with all the compassion and understanding of a German prison guard? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/188.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>HILLARY AND THE RAT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- "Why can't a woman be more like a man?" is the question that Professor Henry Higgins famously asks in Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's "My Fair Lady." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/189.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>STROKE!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- After the first bright and obligatory "Hi, How are you?" and expecting an equally bright "fine," it came as a shock to hear, "My husband had a stroke." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/190.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>A POET IN THE HOUSE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I am a poet. And although I have been called a lot of things - some unfit for this newspaper - "poet" is the only label I care to wear. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/191.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>RED SOX NATION: GET USED TO IT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The "duck boats" again rolled through the streets of Boston this week, accompanied by the cheers of a couple of million Red Sox fans. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/192.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>ART AT THE END OF IT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - "Why would I let my 14-year-old daughter be an artist?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/193.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> THE SCAR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- The locked hospital room was almost too dark for me to see if anyone was there. But someone was, curled into a ball, hiding beneath the sheets and blanket, taking up a minimal space in the universe. His intent had been to take up no space at all, and, after his overdose, his life had been saved only by skilled and heroic medical intervention. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/194.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>YOU'RE DOING A HECK OF A JOB, FEMA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS -- Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency committed the unpardonable sin of faking a press conference about their performance at the southern California wildfires, by having their own public affairs (public relations) employees pass as reporters and lob softball questions at the FEMA Director, Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/195.html><b><I>Campaign 2008</I><BR>FLORIDA DEMOCRATS WANT THEIR VOTES COUNTED</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> ORLANDO, Oct. 27, 2007 -- Gathered here for their biennial meeting on a rare rainy weekend in one of the world's sunniest resorts, Florida Democratic Party activists didn't let the gloomy weather get them down. They cheered two new members of the state's Congressional delegation, coughed up hefty campaign contributions for local and state candidates, and partied into the wee hours Sunday morning with all the confidence in the world about the state's chances of reversing its 2-for-2 record of electing Republican governors and Presidents. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/196.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>LET'S PLAY BY THE RULES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Come then, let us decide on some nice ways to kill each other. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/197.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>I'M NOT AFRAID OF FRIGHT NIGHT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Being afraid of the Big Bad Wolf was child's play compared to being scared - heart-thumping scared - of being caught for ringing a doorbell and running away. But we didn't reserve that for Halloween. We did that for amusement on many hot Summer nights in the 1940s. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/198.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THE RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- For decades, the federal government has faithfully intoned the magic words, "national security," whenever it wants to foist something odious upon the American people. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/199.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>AN EVENING WITH GARRY TRUDEAU</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Bob Dylan may have written the soundtrack to my generation's youth, but Garry Trudeau has had more staying power. He's been writing the story of our lives. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/200.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>BOLTON SAYS IRAN ATTACK IS 'CERTAIN'</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M., Oct. 26, 2007 -- In case you missed it, buried in an interview in one of the world's most prestigious publications, longtime Bush Administration operative and defrocked Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says you can count on a U.S. attack against Iran before the end of Mr. Bush's second term. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/201.html><b><i>Reporting: Los Angeles</i><br>STATE'S TRAGIC FIRES HIDE A SILVER LINING</b></a><dd>
<b>By Ron Kenner</b>
<p> HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Some 20 years back I took my visiting brother to an upscale jazz bar atop one of Hollywood's few high-rise buildings. From its penthouse vantage point at Sunset and Vine we had a splendid view of Los Angeles -- if you could see it through the smoke. We were seated in the "no smoking" section but surrounded by smokers -- and maybe that's a good metaphor for the tragicomic secret life of sunny Southern California. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/202.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> 'I'M STONED. SO WHAT?' </b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Divorced at 40, and now without a job, Charles' life was going nowhere. And that was why he had come to see me. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/203.html><b><i>AR Essay</i><br>MY WONDERFUL, AMAZING AND AUTISTIC SON</b></a><dd>
<b>by Barbara Coppo</b>
<p> VALLEJO, Calif. -- Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world shrouded in a mask of vocal inability and your only communication was through guttural sounds? Imagine the fear and frustration surging through your body when you felt pain or needed something but couldn't express it to those around you, so you instinctively take your frustrations out the only way you know how - on the people who love you most! <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/204.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>PANTS!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- If you feel compelled to say something to a kid about the way he is dressed and the way you feel about baggy, droopy, oversized, indecent and downright ugly pants, be ready with a smart come-back of your own when he sneers, "is there a law against it?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/205.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>BAGGY BRITCHES AREN'T THE PROBLEM</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Ban the baggy britches? Tell teen-age girls they can't show their navels? Tell homosexuals they can't get married? Issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants? Form a committee for states to secede from the United States? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/206.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>A MOVING EXPERIENCE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Can someone please open the door?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/207.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>FEDERAL SHIELD LAW GIVES PRESS WATCHDOGS MORE BITE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The current administration in the White House has taken secrecy to unprecedented levels. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/208.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>LIFE IS NOT WRITTEN BY AARON SORKIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I started writing this column because I wanted Al Gore to run for president. Halfway through, I talked myself out of it. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/209.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>KILLING THE DEVIL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- That man lying in bed next to Janice was the Devil. God had warned her earlier that day, and now she knew it for certain. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/210.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>THE 'ROCKIES' ROAD TO NEWSPAPER OBLIVION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M., Oct. 15, 2007 -- The survival of the newspaper industry around the globe could depend on things as simple as one baseball fan, and as complex as the explosion of all-digital technology and media. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/211.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</I><br>NO LEFT TURN FOR MITT ROMNEY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Oct. 14, 2007 -- What in the world is the GOP thinking? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/212.html><b><i>One Woman's World</i><br>LITTLE BOYS AND THEIR GUNS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Elizabeth T. Andrews</b>
<p> CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Not so very long ago the horror word was Columbine. This past week it was Asa Coon, a mere boy of 14 who probably had never shaved or kissed the girl next door. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/213.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>POLITICIANS LOVE WAR, BUT DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR IT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It was once a given of American economic policy that, when the nation went to war, it increased taxes to pay for it. For example, the top personal tax rate during World War II was 94 percent on all income above $70,000, or about $753,000 in today's dollars. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/214.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>JUST DON'T DROP IT, GENERAL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- <b>Brain</b>: General, we've got an emergency. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/215.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>TELL THE DAMN TRUTH ALREADY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Lately I've been wondering what might have happened if President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had just told the truth. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/216.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>SUDDENLY, DIET DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- "I'm depressed because I weigh too much," acknowledged Julie, a 35-year-old working mother of two. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/217.html><b><i>Caring</i><br>STANDING TALL AMID THE LILLIPUTIANS OF ELDER CARE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Cindy Hasz</b>
<p> SAN DIEGO -- Here we go again. I only played the role of Joan of Arc once and I had to drink half a bottle of sherry to get on stage. I don't remember much about the performance but my mother said I was good. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/218.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>I BRAKE FOR CEMETERIES</b></a><dd>
<b>By Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Actually, my Sunday morning visit to Books-A-Million was to peruse travel books and literary tours in England, Ireland and Wales, until my eyes caught a thin book with a title so long it almost ran off the spine. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/219.html><b><i>Book Excerpt</i><br>LEGACY: HOW A FOOTBALL GAME CHANGED A NATION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Steven Travers</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- The University of Southern California opened the 2003 season at Auburn. U.S.C. Coach Pete Carroll invited Sam Cunningham and John Papadakis to make the trip and to speak to the team aboutt the 1970 game in the state they were now playing in - a state that had been changed by the events of that day, and by the men speaking to the team now. Southern California then smoked the Tigers, 23-0. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/220.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>BUT CAN HE DO JAZZ HANDS?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I was in high school when the NCAA implemented its now-famous Title IX sports massacre, which brought parity to men's and women's collegiate sports. But as a male athlete, I hated the way the universities brought parity about. They slashed men's sports across the board so there were equal numbers of men's and women's teams. By the time they were done, there were more casualties than Freddie Krueger's visit to a summer-camp counselor convention. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/221.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>MY PROGRAM AND MY CAMPRAL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- It was a funny feeling, almost a kind of irritability or edginess. Bob's parents could pick up on it in his angry tone of voice and pressured speech, often before he was aware of it himself. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/222.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>WHY BUSH SHOULD HAVE SIGNED THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH ACT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter M. Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007 -- President George W. Bush today vetoed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which expired this past week. The highly successful program to aid children was begun in 1997 under the Clinton presidency. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/223.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>TWO ON THE AISLE, TWO FLIGHTS UP</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> NEW YORK, N. Y. -- No one has to guess where you mean when you refer to "the big Apple," or even just saying "Broadway." It's also called the city that never sleeps, or Gotham. If you live in any of the five boroughs of New York City, you refer to Manhattan simply as "the city," and the whole world knows it as "The Melting Pot." From now on, I'll call it by a new moniker: "The City of Stairs." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/224.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>BUSH FIDDLES WHILE THE PLANET BURNS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The Northwest Passage, the fabled shortcut above the Arctic Circle between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that had defied exploration for centuries, used to be ice covered and was not navigable by conventional ships. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/225.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>DEMONIZE THIS!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In the grand tradition of the loopy conservative patriarchy, right up there with Ronald Reagan's 1981 comment, "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do," we now have Homeland Security Chairman Michael Chertoff arguing that "illegal migrants really degrade the environment." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/226.html><b><i>Reporting: Florida</i><br>A MAN NAMED McCLASH STANDS UP TO BOSS TAR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Oct. 2, 2007 - A lot of politicians would have accepted a "bribe" - a big, fat and legal campaign contribution - and let any outstanding issues of principle between them and a major developer slip away. Not Manatee County Commissioner-At-Large Joe McClash, who has taken the sometimes lonely and dangerous stance that the county's biggest developer, the owners of <A HREF="http://www.lakewoodranch.com/homes/villages.cfm">Lakewood Ranch</A HREF>, should use its own funds to expand the local highways its vast size and growing population may demand. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/227.html><b><i>The American Traveler</i><br>DISCOVERING ARGENTINA'S ANDEAN PAST</b></a><dd>
<b>by Martin McReynolds</b>
<p> SALTA, Argentina -- My wife Norma and I got an unexpected glimpse of the distant past when we took a two-week trip recently through the mountainous provinces of Salta and Jujuy in Northwest Argentina. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/228.html><b><i>On Native Groynd</i><br>WHY CONSERVATIVES WON'T INSURE KIDS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The prevailing philosophy of conservatives - that government is the problem and the free market is the solution for every ill - consistently bumps up against the reality that this philosophy rarely works as designed. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/229.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>A BIG MAN GETS BEHIND HILLARY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Sept. 26, 2007 -- Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is a big man, standing 6'5'' tall, and his praise for his candidate matches his stature. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/230.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- <i>Author's Note:</i> Every so often, when I take a break from politics, I find myself writing about my 90-year-old mother in Florida. She is a dancer, and until she retired this year, she wrote, choreographed, directed and performed in yearly musical comedies at her retirement community. She was doing high kicks on stage well into her 80s, and she still teaches exercise classes. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/231.html><b><i>A.R. Essay</i><br>IT WAS BEGINNING OF THE END FOR NIXON'S PRESIDENCY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ron Kenner</b>
<p> HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Thirty-four years ago, Sept. 24, 1973, marked the beginning of the endgame of the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, the only president to resign the office. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/232.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br> 'I'M NOT AN ALCOHOLIC!' </b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- She wondered if she drank too much. She acknowledged that a bottle of wine every night just might be the start of a problem. Was it because of loneliness? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/233.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> WARWICK, New York -- At home, there are no books on my night stand although I still have a reading lamp attached to my headboard. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/234.html><b><i>At The Movies</i><br>MILAREPA: MAGICIAN. MURDERER. SAINT.</b></a><dd>
<b>by Gary Gach </b>
<p> SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- If aliens from outer space visit us, I'm sure they'd be struck by our penchant for revenge. Just look at newspapers, where the motto is "If it bleeds, it leads." They'd find more horror there than any single mind can comprehend. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/235.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>WAIT, DON'T I KNOW YOU?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Last year, after one of my staff left the state government agency where we worked, I received an email from Human Resources, telling me this person had been "separated from employment." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/236.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>OUR 'VITAL' NATIONAL INTEREST IN IRAQ? OIL, OIL, OIL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In his new book, "The Age of Turbulence," former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan departed from the Bush Administration's script and wrote that "the Iraq war is largely about oil." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/237.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>ALL THE PERFUMES OF ARABIA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In last week's column I wrote about the very real possibility that President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will make a preemptive bombing strike on Iran before they skedaddle out of office - you know, because all their other ideas have worked out so well. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/238.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>OBSESSIVE 'COLLECTORS' ARE HARD TO CURE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Ann's husband had fled years ago because he couldn't stand the ever-expanding mess. She was a collector, but that wasn't how she thought of herself. Her idea was that all the stuff she collected - the things she bought at garage sales, from secondhand stores, on eBay, from the Shopping Channel, and assorted items of junk she found at the curb or in an alley - was going to be usable, at least someday. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/239.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>OBAMA, CLINTON FIRE FIRST SALVOS - AT EACH OTHER</b></a><dd>
<b>bny Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Colo., Sept. 17, 2007 -- The Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns today fired the first serious salvos in the war to win votes in the West, as Sen. Obama's national co-chairman Federico Peña announcing the opening this week of the first official campaign office in Denver, Colo., and an appearance by would-be First Husband, former President Bill Clinton, at the "Hillary for President" fundraiser in Boulder today. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/240.html><b><i>Reporting: Argentina</i><br>REMEMBERING BAD TIMES IN ARGENTINA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Martin McReynolds</b>
<p> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Returning to Argentina these days brings back memories of an ugly time. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/241.html><b><i>An A.R. Editorial</i><br>TO HONOR THEIR SACRIFICE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Sept. 16, 2007 -- in the little town where I grew up on a farm in the 1950's, there is an ambulance building dedicated to the men and women who served their country in World War II, and its words impressed themselves upon me every day as I passed it on the bus, trying to memorize it as quick as I could read. Today, I don't recall it well, but it seems like it went, "To the men and women of the town of Monroe who gave their lives in the service of freedom, this memorial stands." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/242.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>DENVER MAYOR VOWS 'NO VIOLENCE,' BUT LAWSUIT LOOMS OVER SECURITY PLANS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Colo., Sept. 12, 2007 -- In an exclusive interview with the American Reporter, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper today vowed to keep the people of Denver and delegates to the Democratic National Convention safe, warning that he will tolerate "no violence and no disruption" and will try to protect the rights of anyone "engaged in lawful protests." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/243.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>DON'T THEY KNOW THERE'S A WAR ON?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Back during World War II, when people griped about rationing or some other inconvenience, someone was sure to pipe up and say, "Don't you know there's a war on?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/244.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>DON'T LET THE DOGS OUT! DON'T BOMB IRAN!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- How well I remember, during the Nixon years, the question, "Would you buy a used car from this man?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/245.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>'I'M DYING!'</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Ed, a 42-year-old divorced mortgage broker, explained that his job was demanding and often left him feeling tense and stressed. Although Ed had a girl friend, he lived alone. He had come to see me only at the insistence of his primary care doctor. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/246.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>WHEN THE 'GOOD' GO WRONG</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It surprises me when someone asks me point blank if scandals among Republican officeholders reflect on the party as a whole, and, get this, will I change my vote in the upcoming election? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/247.html><b>P.R. AND SPIN CAN'T HIDE FAILURES IN IRAQ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here's a question that the White House press corps never seems to ask. If things in Iraq are getting better and the "surge" is working, how come the only trips to Iraq that President Bush and other top officials can make are "surprise" visits? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/248.html><b><i>An A.R. Editorial</i><br>HOW TO END THE WAR </b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Sept. 9, 2007 -- Osama bin Laden has shown the way. If the desire to end the War on Terror is strong enough in the hearts of those who lead the antiwar movement, there is now a plain and simple path to peace. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/249.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>PUT YOUR LEFT LEG IN, PUT YOUR LEFT LEG OUT...</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I've been married for over 14 years now, and we have learned to compromise on hundreds of issues. But there's one area where we seem to have a few difficulties. My wife thinks dancing is fun and enjoyable, and I think it makes me look like a big dork. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/250.html><b><i>Reporting: Los Angeles</i><br>MICHAEL'S VICK'S SENTENCE WON'T HALT DOG-FIGHTING RINGS IN OTHER CITIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by T.S. Kerrigan</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES,Sept. 6, 2007 -- Along with the vast majority of Americans, I was relieved to see Michael Vick indicted by a federal grand jury after it became evident that he had trained, tortured and mutilated pit bulls. Americans like the appearance of swift justice, often content to leave further analysis of the problem addressed to legal scholars of the future, rather than look behind the effect of their action at the time. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/251.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>ON THE ROAD WITH JACK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I've always blamed Jack Kerouac. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/252.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>THE REVOLVING DOOR: TRAGEDY IN THE MAKING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Roger screamed repeatedly as he marched down the middle of Main Street: "I'll kill all of you terrorist b--tards!" He waved a large crowbar like a baseball bat. His huge tattooed arms and thick neck protruding from a black T-shirt gave him the appearance of a real-life incarnation of a video-game monster. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/253.html><b><i>Reporting: Pennsylvania</i><br>FAKED PHOTOS HELPED LEAD U.S. INTO IRAQ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Add faked photos to the list of lies told by the Bush-Cheney Administration before its invasion of Iraq. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/254.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>WHAT SEN. LARRY CRAIG DIDN'T SAY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- I've been waiting. Nothing has been written or reported and I think it should have been by now. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) said more than once, "I am not gay; I have never been gay." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/255.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>LABOR DAY, IMMIGRATION AND THE SALMAN RASPBERRIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum </b>
<p> LA CUEVA, N,M., Sept. 1, 2007 -- Don't talk to me again for one minute of one hour of one day about legal or illegal immigration issues in the United States of America until you've worked one day in their shoes. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/256.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>SINCE WHEN IS MY PAST 'HISTORY?'</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- My family and I were sitting outside a coffee shop at my alma mater, Ball State University, last weekend. We were watching a steady stream of teenagers come and go, when an innocent voice said, "Do those kids' mommies and daddies know they're out so late?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/257.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>IN COLORADO, THE HEAT IS ON THE POLITICIANS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> PUEBLO, Colo. -- At the State Fair here in suburban Douglas County, Colo., close to the geographic center of the nation, politics is as hot a topic as the 95-plus-degree heat. Politicians better listen up. The people say they want leadership, not partisanship. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/258.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>HOW KATRINA EXPOSED CONSERVATISM'S FLAWS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Two years ago this week, a great American city was left to die. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/259.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>WHY YOUR 'FOURTHMEAL' MAY BE YOUR LAST</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- America is a land of overwhelming abundance. Couple that with the disastrous idea of building an entire economy and national culture on consuming and you have a good idea why the soul of this country is ailing. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/260.html><b><i>Follow The Money</i><br>HSU TOOK $40 MILLION FROM WALL ST. INVESTMENT FUND BEFORE DISAPPEARING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Sept. 12, 2007, 6 a.m. EST -- In yet another astounding turn of events in the fantastic tale of Chinese-American millionaire and top Democratic donor Norman Hsu, it was learned Friday morning that a Wall Street investment fund run by Woodstock music festival backer <A HREF="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118956680238724783.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news">Joel Rosenman and his Chinese-American partner, Yau Cheng, gave Hsu some $40 million</A HREF> to cover the cost of producing apparel in China for U.S. private labels such as Gucci and Prada, and now says the money is missing, the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reported Wednesday. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/261.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>I'M PULLING OUT MY HAIR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Nancy, a 23-year-old married graduate student, was well-dressed, quite pretty, and meticulously groomed. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/262.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>LIFE BEFORE SPECIAL EFFECTS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Long before special effects bombarded us with sights and sounds beyond belief, we had sights and sounds beyond belief - although they reached our senses only when we were shielded from the light. We had radio; and, we had vivid imaginations. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/263.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE AN EX-WIFE SCORNED</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I learned a long time ago about the importance of treating one's wife with respect and kindness. And unlike some of my other life lessons, I didn't have to learn this one the hard way. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/264.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>ON IRAQ, WHY IS THE RIGHT TAKEN SERIOUSLY?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It still amazes me that newspapers still publish pieces by William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, David Brooks and Thomas Friedman. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/265.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>IN THE SWEET GLOW OF ANTICIPATION, TOP DEMOCRATS CONVENE IN DENVER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Ted Manna</b>
<p> DENVER, Colo., Aug. 22, 2007 -- With rallying cries like "the road to the White House runs through the West" and "bring home a Democratic president," the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) kicked off the countdown to their party's 2008 convention in Denver today. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/266.html><b><i>Campaign 2008</i><br>WHY THE DEMOCRATS WILL LOSE AGAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., Aug. 23, 2007 -- An interview in the <A HREF="http://www.observer.com/node/57075">New York Observer</A HREF> this week with failed 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, now a political science professor, carries a bold warning for Democrats who think the 2008 election is a foregone conclusion - that Democrats will win the White House in a landslide no matter what mistakes they make. The stupidity of that belief is nicely punctured by the Dukakis interview. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/267.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>HYDRANGEAS IN NEW YORK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- My beloved aunt died last Thursday at the age of 92. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/268.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>SEX & DRUGS: STRATEGIES FOR SEX WITHOUT DEPRESSION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Jim's message had an urgent tone - "...the first appointment, any day, any time." Now age 48, happily married with two teen age kids and a good job, Jim had become severely depressed for no obvious reason. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/269.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>AN INVESTOR'S PARABLE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum </b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M, Aug. 17, 2007 -- Would you commit new, speculative, important amounts of. money to the ttock market between now and September 11? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/270.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>BRITISH BOSSES BAN BARNEY'S BALLOONS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- God bless the British bureaucrat. They've got that special something their American cousins will never achieve. Their single-minded dedication to their rules and regulations, despite all common sense and human decency, is unrivaled in this world. And that gives me job security as a humor writer. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/271.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>STILL THE BEST REVENGE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The great modern painter Fernand Leger liked to say, "Either a good life and lousy work, or good work and a lousy life." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/272.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>WISHING FOR ANOTHER 9/11?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- In last Thursday's <A HREF="http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/stu_bykofsky/20070809_Stu_Bykofsky___To_save_America__we_need_another_9_11.html"><i>Philadelphia Daily News</i></A HREF>, conservative columnist Stu Bykofsky gave voice to the thought that many supporters of the so-called global war on terror are thinking right now. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/273.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>SEX AND YOUR ANTIDEPRESSANT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Helen, a 33-year-old mother of two, had been very depressed, at times wishing she were dead. A shaky marriage was part of the problem. Now, with the aid of psychotherapy and an antidepressant, she was much less depressed despite her troubled relationship with her husband. She felt brighter, had more energy, and could function better at her job and at home. She was immensely relieved, and could even smile as she complained, "But sex is lousy!" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/274.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>SAVING THE PLANET</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- As John walked through the living room he said, not unkindly, "I spend half my time turning off lights. We have to save the planet, you know." What could I say? He managed to stifle me this time. I am not going to deny a fellow earthling the right - our duty, he claims - to save the planet. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/275.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>WITH F.I.S.A VOTE, DEMOCRATS SHOW LACK OF SPINE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- We've come to expect Republicans to do the wrong thing over and over again. That's why no one was surprised that virtually every Republican in the House and Senate voted for President Bush's revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/276.html><b><i>A.R. Essay</i><br>THE FAUX-DEMOCRACY OF JOHN CAGE </b></a><dd>
<b>by Rebecca L. Hein</b>
<p> CASPER, Wyo., Aug. 13, 2007 -- American composer John Cage died 15 years ago today. Cage is best known for an absurdity entitled Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds (4'33"), in which the performer poses on the stage but does not play. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/277.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>NO ASTERISK FOR BARRY BONDS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- An undercurrent of boos mixed into the cheers when Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run in San Dieg on Aug. 4 to tie Hank Aaron's Major League Baseball (MLB) record for lifetime homers. Several in the crowd even hoisted cards bearing an asterisk to indicate they were sure the record was tainted, the result of a widespread belief that Bonds had used steroids - a charge he consistently has denied. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/278.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>AFTER THE COUP</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- If you've already stolen two presidential elections, how hard could it be to steal a country? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/279.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>THE SMARTER BRAIN PATCH</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- My patient, Michael, was very sad as he recalled the scene. "I used to look forward to my annual visit to my father. He was a prince of a fellow, and I loved him very much. Seeing him had always been a treat. But this year, as my sister had warned, things were incredibly different. She had taken over paying his bills after the bank notified her of too many overdrafts and non payment penalties. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/280.html><b><i>Media Beat</i><br>LET US NOW PRAISE AN INFAMOUS WOMAN - AND OUR OWN POSSIBILITIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Norman Solomon</b>
<p> SAN FRANCISCO -- The problem with letting history judge is that so many officials get away with murder in the meantime - while precious few choose to face protracted vilification for pursuing truth and peace. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/281.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>WIRED!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Wires are unsightly. There is not another word in the thesaurus to better illustrate my point. The suggested words are ugly, hideous, unattractive, unprepossessing, nasty, and horrid. No, wires are merely unsightly - like crabgrass sprouting everywhere across a well-manicured lawn. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/282.html><b><I>Market Maker</i><br>IF THE MORTGAGE CRISIS DOESN'T GET WORSE, IT'LL GET BETTER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> ANGEL FIRE, N.M., Aug. 3, 2007 -- In a <A HREF="http://www.american-reporter.com/402.html">dispatch buried now</A HREF> in the American Reporter archives, we first alerted readers early last Fall about the domino effect of mounting foreclosures. This morning, a major mortgage originator and lender, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. announced the de facto end of its operations, Some 7,000 employees are fired, and there's a significant likelihood of the company declaring bankruptcy in coming weeks. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/283.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THE FINANCIALIZATION OF AMERICA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It seems hard to believe, but the finance, insurance and real estate sector (FIRE, for short) now constitutes about 20 percent of our nation's gross domestic product, while manufacturing contributes less than 13 percent. By comparison, in 1950, manufacturing was 29.3 percent of GDP and financial services contributed 10.9 percent. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/284.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>WHO SCAMS THE SCAMMERS?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Several years ago, I knew I had made my mark in the world when I received my very own Nigerian scam letter. When Nigerian scam artists put your name on a letter, rather than addressing it with an impersonal "Dear Friend," you've obviously done something important. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/285.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>WHY I'M NOT VOTING FOR RUDY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- According to The American Reporter's readers choice presidential poll, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani are the front runners. And the July 17 Gallup Poll, a more scientific survey, reported little change in the public leanings for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. Again, Senator Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are leading other hopefuls in their respective parties. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/286.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>ARE YOU BIPOLAR?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Because of increased media attention and pharmaceutical company advertising, more people than ever are coming now to see therapists or psychiatrists claiming they suffer from a bipolar illness. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/287.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>WHEN LEADERS ARE AFRAID TO LEAD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says the House has so much to do that impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush would be a distraction. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/288.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THE IMPORTENS OF GUD SPELING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Knowing how to spell is critical. If you want people to take you seriously, you have to be able to spell. And you can't rely on your spell-checker, because it only finds misspelled words, not correctly spelled words that are in the wrong place. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/289.html><b><i>Reporting: Florida</i><br>FLESH-EATING BACTERIA IN FLORIDA WATERS INFECT MANY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., July 26, 2007 -- Florida health officials have confirmed that in the past year at least 100 beachgoers, mostly on the state's Gulf Coast, have contracted cases of Vibrio, the deadly flesh-eating bacteria that is usually associated with eating raw oysters, The American Reporter has learned. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/290.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>EXECUTIVE POWER GONE WILD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- A recent Associated Press opinion poll found that public approval of Congress' job performance has fallen to 24 percent, its lowest level in a year. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/291.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>BRATTLEBOROWORLD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Ninety-two-year-old Reba Goldstein of Ft. Lauderdale likes to clip stories out of the newspapers and give them to her friends. This week she cut one out of the Miami Herald and gave it to my mother. "Does Joyce know about these nudes in Brattleboro?" she asked. Of course my mother called me immediately. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/292.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>KIDS AND SUICIDE: THE ANITDEPRESSANT LINK</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- A growing debate about whether antidepressant drugs increase or actually cause suicidal thinking in adolescents has in recent months led many doctors to become more reluctant to prescribe them. The sad result has been an increase in the adolescent suicide rate because depressed adolescents may not have received the very medications that could have saved their lives, or may have recently stopped taking them. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/293.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>GIVE IT UP FOR DA PREZ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- There's a lot of language today that confuses me. For example, does anyone know why certain people try to get someone's attention by shouting out, "Yo!" And if that doesn't work, they become redundant and shout out "Yo Yo!" That could be very confusing if you work for Duncan Toys or are a classic cellist. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/294.html><b><i>Reporting: Dubai</i><br>KENNEDY SLAMS BUSH FOR FAILING TROOPS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Tom Clifford</b>
<p> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Forty years after his brother opposed the Vietnam war, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is speaking just as stridently against another unpopular conflict and calling his President to account. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/295.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>LAZY LINGO</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- "The economy is looking brighter this week," I said and he answered casually "Yes, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." That was an ordinary response, rather pessimistic, I thought, but I knew what he meant. Then I wondered if he knew what it meant to wait for the other shoe to drop. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/296.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>SEE DICK AND JANE GROW UP</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Youngest Daughter is learning to read, and has been practicing on the old standard, Dick and Jane, the same stories that taught me to read. I had lost track of the brother and sister literary team after first grade, so I decided to look them up. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/297.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>SUMMER MEDITATION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- A Polish farmer in the town where my husband grew up used to say, "Corn come, 'coon come. 'Coon come, corn gone." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/298.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>HOW THE BUSH ADMINSTRATION USES FEAR AS A POLITICAL TOOL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- With public support for the Iraq war hovering around 30 percent, the Bush administration is falling back on a familiar strategy it loves to use when it find itself in trouble - scaring the American people. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/299.html><b><i>Reporting: Middle East</i><br>U.S.-IRAN MEETING HOLDS LITTLE PROMISE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Tom Clifford</b>
<p> DUBAI -- An international meeting on Palestine proposed by President George W. Bush will not be a conference to end conflict but may herald a "peace to end peace." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/300.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>SPIDER-MAN NEVER USED SUCTION CUPS!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids today have great movie toys. When I was a kid, we never had Spider-Man movies, video games, or shampoo and conditioner sets. We just had the cheaply-made cartoons. The ones that showed Spider-Man flying past the same cityscape so many times, I thought he was swinging in circles. (For those of you who don't remember, this is the show that gave us the theme song, "Spider Man, Spider Man/Does whatever a spider can/Spins a web any size/Catches thieves just like flies.") <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/301.html><b><i>The Shrink's Progress</i><br><i>Eat or Die, Part VI</i><br>THE PATIENT SURVIVES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Debbie, a 17-year-old now down to 86 pounds and ever closer to her secret goal of 81 pounds, slowly awoke in her bed on a hospital intensive care unit. She was so groggy from her drug overdose that the only thing she noticed was the painful burning sensation in her nose. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/302.html><b><i>Market Mover</i><br>HOW NOW, CROWNED DOW?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> BOCA RATON, Fla., July 17, 2007 -- The news media crowned a "new all-time high" - and the 14,000 milestone - on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) today. Try to stifle your yawn. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/303.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>50 YEARS AND COUNTING</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. -- We knew the day was coming. After all, when we got married on July 7, 1957, we were thinking ahead to the wonderful calendar date 50 years hence. We didn't expect to turn that leaf so soon, but 50 years have come and gone as swiftly as toddlers turn into adults - and we all know how fast those years go by. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/304.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THE MADNESS OF IRAQ</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Is President Bush delusionalwhen it comes to the Iraq war? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/305.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br><i>Eat or Die, Part V</i><br> ENTER THE THERAPIST</b></a><dd>
<b>by Harvey Widroe, M.D.</b>
<p> ORINDA, Calif. -- Anorexia and bulimia are stubborn conditions to treat, and any one clinician, no matter how talented or zealous, is ill-equipped to do it alone. Successful treatment requires a treatment team including a primary care doctor or internist, a nutritionist, a psychotherapist, and a psychiatrist. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/306.html><b><CENTER><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" Size="+3" COLOR="black"><b>+ In Memoriam +</b></FONT><br><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" Size="+3" COLOR="navy"><b>Shirley Slesinger Lasswell</b></FONT><br>1923 - 2007<br><i>May She Rest In Peace</i></center></FONT></A HREF><p><i>A.R. Profile: Shirley Slesinger Lasswell</i><br>KNOWN FOR WINNIE-THE-POOH, SHIRLEY SLESINGER LASSWELL IS MUCH MORE THAN A MARKETING GENIUS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 10, 2007 -- When branding pioneer and literary agent tephen Slesinger died in 1953, he left behind his vibrant young wife, Shirley, one child, a darling little girl with bright eyes and long thick ringlets of blond hair, overflowing file cabinets full of contracts for literary properties, a rapidly dwindling bank account. And there was also a certain antique book, illustrated with lovely, whimsical drawings of a tiny bear, to which her husband had bought rights in 1929 covering "anything in the future." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/307.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>HOW DOES AN ERA END?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- From the beginning of the long nightmare that has been the presidency of George W. Bush, I have wondered how - or if - it might end. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/308.html><b>A.R. CORRESPONDENT WALTER BRASCH ASKED TO APPEAR ON IRANIAN TELEVISION</b></a><dd>
<b>American Reporter Staff</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., July 11, 2007 -- In a hopeful sign that relations between the United States and Iran may indeed be growing warmer after recent face-to-face meetings between U.S. and Iranian diplomats, American Reporter Correspondent Walter Brasch has been asked by an Iranian television producer to provide live commentary from time to time on a daily television show, "Four Corners," devoted to world news. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/309.html><b><i>Reporting: Middle East</i><br>ENVOY OF IRONY: TONY BLAIR AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Tom Clifford,</b>
<p> DUBAI -- Satire died when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel peace prize. Irony collapsed when Tony Blair was made Middle East peace envoy. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/310.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I don't usually take notes on a conversation with myself, but this was a good one. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/311.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>MY UNIVERSE IS MADE OF STORIES</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- They say that before you die, your life passes in front of your eyes. Another way to see your life is to throw a 90th birthday party for your mother. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,420/312.html><b><i>Shrink's Progress</i><br>EAT OR DIE, Part IV: GAMES TH]]>