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Lunch with the family…
Oy! Three flights of stairs!
My sister took Elly and me, my mother, my son and his wife, my two daughters and three of my grandsons to lunch at Lightfoot’s, a former bank turned into a restaurant in Leesburg, VA. Supposedly, this restaurant is at a halfway point between my mother in Manassas and Elly and me in Harpers Ferry (and my daughter Penny and her kids in Williamsport, MD.)
This was put together so everyone could give me their best wishes before I go into the hospital next week and for all of them to wish me their best.
Buddy and Rachel
We were up three flights of stairs in a private room in this old bank building, where we (or at least me with my current balance and dizziness) slowly walked up and then spent two hours in one place.
It’s full of old French theatre posters, which was sort of neat for my 12-year-old grandson John who is learning French in school this year…”Mais oui!”
My Mother
My son Bud and his wife Rachel are in from Wisconsin.. they’ll be flying back early tomorrow. Penny and the boys, of course, only live a little bit away from us and will be involved in watching me when I recuperate so Elly can go into Hagerstown Community College and work.
Me, of course
My daughter Cassandra who will be here for another week is coordinating all the hospital and doctor stuff with Elly. She is a very organized and impressive woman and has everything going on schedule… more tests next week before surgery, hospital be rental for after (not sure why I need this, but I’m told not to argue.)
Anyway, I can’t get over thinking that this is everyone’s chance to say goodbye to me in case anything goes wrong in surgery (I think there’s a 7% chance or something.)
No radio shows this coming weekend… perhaps the week after. Let’s hope.
Related articles
- My daughter, Cassandra, has come down from Connecticut and is helping my wife coordinate all the brain surgery problems… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- Ever make out a “living will?” (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
Looks like I’m on a revised schedule and a doctor change for brain surgery…
My wife, daughter and my son (who just came in from Wisconsin to see me) have just returned from a long morning and early afternoon in Georgetown (northern DC) where we have been at the hospital and physicians‘ center at the University.
It now seems that this is where everything will take place with the actual surgery one week from today. Tuesday we’ll have to go down again for more testing.
My new doctor comes with a very fine reputation and many years of experience. The hospital is one of the best rated in the country (something the Hagerstown hospital was far from) and it looks like they know what to do. The results of the surgery will take out part of the tumor, discover what kind it is and whether it needs chemotherapy, radiation or both. Then I will have an idea of how much living I will be able to expect… realizing that there is no 100% cure here.
Me and my brain. So this is what it looks like!
I now have much more need to research the idea of a brain tumor and how it will continue to effect my life. When you are 66 and facing something major like this in your head, it is also concerning how much life there will continue to be to effect.
I can, however, do my radio show tomorrow morning on WSHC, Shepherdstown. If you aren’t in our 50 mile radius for 89.7 FM, go HERE and listen live on line. Tomorrow I’ll be on from 10:30 to 12:00 ET and I look forward to calls and requests (and I think my daughter Cassandra is going to do the show with me.)
Hope you all had a better day than I did. – Bill
(thanks to my daughter, Cassandra Corrigan, for the photo.)
Related articles
- Brain Cancer Chemotherapy (cancercenter.com)
- Brain Cancer Grading (cancercenter.com)
- Patients With Deadliest Of Brain Cancers Benefit From Repeated Surgeries (medicalnewstoday.com)
- Five Early Symptoms of Brain Tumor (healthybodylife.com)
- Helping M.D.s Help Brain-Tumor Patients (research.microsoft.com)
This morning’s Battleground State polls…
Looks like Obama continues to pull ahead. It will be interesting where he is when next Monday’s debate comes along.
Here are the latest polls from the battleground, updated through the day:
New Hampshire: Obama 50%, Romney 49% (Rasmussen)
Nevada: Obama 48%, Romney 45% (SurveyUSA)
Nevada: Obama 50%, Romney 47% (Rasmussen)
Nevada: Obama 50%, Romney 43% (Project for a New America)
Ohio: Obama 45%, Romney 42% (SurveyUSA)
Wisconsin: Obama 49%, Romney 48% (Marquette Law)
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OK… where is registration heading in swing states?
A Bloomberg analysis finds that Democrats hold the registration advantage over Republicans in four of six battleground states that will play a key role in the presidential election.
“Democrats have the edge over Republicans in Florida, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. In Colorado and New Hampshire, Republicans outnumber Democrats, according to the analysis of state data. Three other battlegrounds — Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin — don’t report registration statistics by party.”
Early voting is underway in many states… how about yours?
Nov. 6 is officially Election Day , but the election has started right now — thanks to modern-day open absentee and early voting.
Voting has already begun in multiple states, including some key swing states: North Carolina, Wisconsin and Virginia. My state, West Virginia, started absentee voting five days ago (ends Oct. 31) and begins in person early voting on October 24 (through Nov. 3).
Check the list below and see where your state has early voting. I notice that Connecticut, my original home state, is not on the list (nor is Massachusetts and Rhode Island). Not sure why.
Related articles
- States whose polls are open early… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- The all-important early vote, and how to track it (washingtonpost.com)
- Early Voting: What It Means for the Race (theroot.com)
- Are You Voting Early? (ireport.cnn.com)
- Early Voting Spurs Campaign Before Obama-Romney Debates (bloomberg.com)
- Early voting forces presidential campaigns to alter tactics (sacbee.com)
- Obama, Romney focus on early voting (politico.com)
- Which States are Already Voting? (politicalwire.com)
42 days until the vote… where do the candidates fall into electoral predictions?
Thanks to Talking Points Memo.
It looks like Obama is still increasing his possibilities… and less than 6 weeks to go.
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- Poll shows Obama with 10-point lead over Romney among Colorado independents (blogs.denverpost.com)
- A Quarter of U.S. States Hold the Keys to Presidential Outcome (blogs.voanews.com)
Back on the radio this morning… I’m so glad!
I’m over in the outer studio at WSHC 89.5 as Elliot Simon finishes up the last hour of his show. I’m setting up my music list for the two hours I’ll be on the air from 11 AM to 1 PM (and, by the way, if you are out of our very small listening area, you can hear the show on the internet by going to http://897wshc.org/ and clicking on “listen live”. Actually, I have friends and family all over the country who listen, so I know we have the reach.
This is the first time in several weeks that I’ve been able to do the show, since I had my accident, broke a bunch of bones and was in the hospital, then laid up at home for quite a while. When I was finally able to move around last week we went to Wisconsin for my son’s wedding, so I missed last Saturday as well. But the “Talk To Me” show is back on today… if you want to call in and talk or request a song, the number is 304-876-5369.
Since this is one of my favorite activities, this is a happy day. I hope my pal Ralph Petrie gets in for the12 to 1 hour so we can have the segment we call “The Petrie Dish”… no one knows more about popular music history than Ralph and it’s fun to get questions answered.
Bye, now… tune in if you can.
Here we are in Milwaukee…
After a 14-hour train ride with no sleep, we are now at the Hilton hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Actually, I just woke up after sleeping for about five hours.
Our son met us at the RR station and got us over to the hotel. Then he took off again to have his Bachelor’s party with his friends.
We’ve had no Wi-Fi until we got here…so I’m sorry not to have kept up with you.
Tomorrow is the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner… more to come…
I’m going back to bed.
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- Milwaukee Wants To Wipe Pittsburgh Off The Map (pittsburgh.cbslocal.com)
- Milwaukee Brewing Co. expands production, adds fermentation tanks (fox6now.com)
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- We Energies: Milwaukee coal plant will switch to natural gas by 2016 (jsonline.com)
Today we leave (via Amtrack) for Wisconsin… Changing trains in Chicago.
OK. We’re in the middle of packing and getting ready to take off for Milwaukee. I’m getting clothes together and my pills and other medications, my computer and everything else I need to get to Buddy’s wedding. The dogs have been put in a nearby kennel for their “dog vacation,” and I miss them already.
The pain from my broken bones has gotten so much better that I think I will get through this trip okay. We have arranged for 
wheelchair transport at the railroad stations, one where we change trains in Chicago and the when we get into Milwaukee, so I should be able to get around with luggage.
Let me warn my regular readers at Under The LobsterScope that I may be missing some posts as we travel. The railroad stations already list that they don’t have Wi-Fi and I’m not sure what the situation will be at the hotel. I will try to get at least one post a day out, preferably with pictures. This should have many interesting scenes worth showing on the blog.
We will be on the road from this evening until Tuesday morning after which will be back in West Virginia and ready to start my regular schedule. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.
Today is lunacy day…
Bud and Rachel
Tomorrow Elly and I board a train for Wisconsin to get to Buddy and Rachel’s wedding, and today is filling up with more and more things we gave to do in order to leave. Meanwhile, I’m adjusting to my current level of pain from the accident and hoping the next seven days will be possible to get through.
We have to go shopping, get our mail held (a trip to the post office), put the dogs in a kennel, start packing – which means getting my meds together, going over wedding clothes, setting up necessary things with friends and neighbors for things that have to be done while we are gone, etc. etc. stc,
I’m already tired just thinking about it.
Statement from United Wisconsin…
Who knows Ryan better? This from United Wisconsin:
“Wisconsin is once again at the epicenter of the battle between big-money special interests and hard-working families. Today’s announcement that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan has been tapped for Mitt Romney’s running mate will bring more big money and heated rhetoric to our already deeply divided state.
“As Governor Scott Walker has spent the last year and a half working to destroy our progressive Wisconsin tradition, Rep. Paul Ryan has stood by his side and defended his actions. After Scott Walker introduced his anti-working family budget repair bill, Paul Ryan told the media that he supports Walker’s union-busting laws and claimed that the peaceful protests that broke out in response to the bill were ‘riots,’ a claim later debunked by Politifact.
“In Congress, Ryan has proposed a budget that would end Medicare as we know it while handing out millions in tax giveaways to wealthy special interests at the expense of working families. Ryan has consistently opposed policies to improve health care, public education, and economic opportunity for working people. These are not Wisconsin values, but they are Paul Ryan’s values.
With Paul Ryan taking a more visible place on the national stage, all eyes will once again be on Wisconsin, but the eyes of Wisconsinites – and the progressive movement we have built – will be focused directly on Paul Ryan. We will hold Ryan accountable for his statements and actions on the campaign trail, ensuring he does not take Scott Walker’s failed policies to the White House.”
We’ll keep our eyes on Wisconsin. Of course, many of us wish we could have rid ourselves of Scott Walker when we had a chance.
Related articles
- Rep. Paul Ryan: Will also run in November for his Wisconsin House seat (blogs.suntimes.com)
- Ryan will excite the GOP base, Walker says (jsonline.com)
- Wisconsin: Capital of the Obama resistance (politico.com)
The announcement is out… Romney has picked Ryan
It’s official. Mitt Romney‘s choice for vice president will be Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. It was announced this morning that Ryan, a more conservative Republican then Mitt, will be the candidate for vice president on the Romney ticket.
Ryan is considered to be much more conservative than Romney. Known for several new budget proposals and changes in Medicare, Ryan is probably the candidate that the Democrats are most happy to have running with Mitt. The fact that Mitt is not nearly as conservative as Ryan will be The cause of potential changes in his campaign.
The choice is interesting since Romney has not actually been nominated yet. This will all occur during the Republican convention. It does, however, make Romney appear more Republican then he has in the last few weeks. He appears to be doing this because it will make the members of his party be more supportive than they have been.
I am looking forward to traveling to Wisconsin for my son Buddy’s wedding In Milwaukee next week, and I’m looking forward to hearing what Wisconsinites have to say about their congressman being on the Republican ticket. I’ll be reporting that information here on Under The LobsterScope.
Related articles
- Quick Thoughts on Romney Veep Announcement (themoderatevoice.com)
- AP Source: Romney Picks Ryan for Running Mate (usnews.com)
- Source: Mitt Romney to select Paul Ryan as running mate (fox6now.com)
- Romney has picked Paul Ryan as running mate, Republican source tells the AP (foxnews.com)
- Romney “picks” Paul Ryan for VP in a DELUSIONAL fit to pretend like he has the GOP nomination. (jeenyuscorner.com)
- Republican official confirms to @AP: Romney will choose Paul Ryan for running mate (ksl.com)
T J Walker : 35 Questions Mitt Romney Must Answer.
T. J. Walker has presented this on television (see video) and in print in Forbes magazine (read it here:T J Walker – 35 Questions for Romney).
If Romney is going to get past the Bain Capital involvement from 2000 to 2002 he will have to answer these. Otherwise this is going to grow.
Thanks, Mr. Walker. You have made Romney’s need to answer these quite clear.
Related articles
- 35 questions Mitt Romney will have to answer to concerning Bain Capital. (ireport.cnn.com)
- 35 Questions Mitt Romney Must Answer About Bain Capital Before The Issue Can Go Away (forbes.com)
- 35 Questions Mitt Romney Must Answer About Bain Capital Before The Issue Can Go Away (tjwalker.com)
- Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Brilliant Bain ad keeps Romney on defense (dailykos.com)
Quote of the Day – I agree with this one…
“I don’t think it would have made the difference. But it’s kind of like Thanksgiving at your in-laws. If you go, it doesn’t guarantee it’s going to be fun, but if you don’t go there’s going to be hell to pay.”
— Paul Begala, quoted by CNN, saying it was a mistake for President Obama to skip campaigning in Wisconsin.
Of course, I find myself often agreeing with Paul Begala… and I wish more Democrats would listen to him.
Related articles
- a message from Paul Begala … Stand Up For President Obama (point4counterpoint.wordpress.com)
- Paul Begala on Obama and Romney: Elitists for President – The Daily Beast (tribuneofthepeople.com)
Walker regains Wisconsin.
We wake up to disappointing news from Wisconsin:
 |
Walker , Scott (i) | GOP | 1,331,076 | 53% |
| Barrett , Tom | Dem | 1,158,337 | 46% |
While Barrett took the cities (where there has been the strongest action by the Walker Administration to
eliminate Union influence), Scott Walker took everything else.
There is some other news, however. One of the State Senate seats previously held by Republicans was filled by a Democrat,thus bringing a new majority to that body. This may help prevent more of Walker.s cutting actions in the next couple of years.
Dismal morning… I’m going back to bed.
Related articles
- Republican Scott Walker Wins Wisconsin Recall Election (mediaite.com)
- Barrett vs. Walker – Wisconsin’s Recall Fiasco (socyberty.com)
- Voter suppression by “Walker allies” or last-minute, uncheckable smear by Barrett people? (althouse.blogspot.com)
The Wisconsin Vote is Today…
It looks like the numbers are favoring Scott Walker as Wisconsinites go to the polls this morning for the recall election. This is going to be an example of how effective millions of dollars of out-of-state money from the likes of the Koch brothers can be against locally raised funds.
Perhaps we are losing what has historically been a liberal state to unbelievable right wing lies. I hope not.
It would be a revival of pure democracy if Walker lost. Keep your fingers crossed.
Looks like Romney has sewn it up…
Having won in Wisconsin, Maryland and DC last night, Romney is being held up by all the pundits as the sure to be Republican Presidential nominee… even though he only has about half of the delegates for the convention.
Santorum is not a close second and would have needed Wisconsin to keep the possibility that he’d take the nomination at the convention. As for Gingrich and Paul, we have to wonder why they waste people’s money running.
We can expect Romney in the remaining primaries to ignore his competitors and focus on attacking the President.
The full scale Presidential campaign is about to have an early start.
Related articles
- Romney Shifts to General-Election Mode (theroot.com)
- Romney Sweeps The Day: MD, WI, DC (alan.com)
- Three Big Things Progressives Should Look For In Today’s GOP Primary (thinkprogress.org)
- Romney wins Maryland, halfway home on delegates (seattlepi.com)
- Wisconsin primary looms large for Romney, larger for Santorum (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Santorum defiant; Romney set for strong showing – Obama tries to overshadow GOP field, again (foxnews.com)
The Humor of Mitt Romney…
Picked this off the Daily Kos. Listening to Mitt’s actual words over the cartoon is a gas:
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- Mitt Romney Suffers Tragic Humor-Circuit Malfunction [Mitt Romney] (jezebel.com)
- Jon Stewart Surveys the GOP’s Palpable Reluctance Over Romney: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- Humorous anecdote: Mitt Romney mocked John Kerry for being rich (dailykos.com)
- Oops he’s done it again, Mitt Romney tells ‘humorous’ story of factory closing (lameducks.wordpress.com)
- Romney Tells “Humorous” Story About His Father Shutting Down A Factory In Michigan (alan.com)
Scott Walker is looking forward to making REAL money…
Wouldn’t you consider the $144,423 that Scott Walker makes as Governor of Wisconsin is a good salary? Gee… it would make MY life a lot easier. Walker, however, told right-wing radio host Charlie Sykes, that he was about to “make some real money” if he were to leave politics and enter the private sector:
And if we fail to win, it will take us down the path we see, failing, people like the people in Illinois, down in Springfield, and I for one don’t want that. Not because this job is that important to me, ‘cuz frankly my wife in some ways would love it if I’d go back to the private sector and make some real money.
So I guess he doesn’t care what happens in his upcoming recall election… and if that’s true, why doesn’t he just quit? Most of Wisconsin would be happy if we did.
And as long as we’re talking about Wisconsin I’d like to say “Hi” to my son in Milwaukee. Chin up, Bud!
Related articles
- “I saw a bald eagle flying over the [Wisconsin] Capitol.” (althouse.blogspot.com)
- Governor Walker’s Wisconsin Lost 3,900 Private-Sector Jobs In December, Nation Added Jobs That Month (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
- Governor Walker’s Wisconsin Lost 11,700 Private-Sector Jobs In November From October (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
- Union-Busting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ‘Far Off Pace’ From Delivering On Job Creation Promises (thinkprogress.org)
- Why Can’t Gov. Scott Walker Stop the Job Losses in Wisconsin? (crooksandliars.com)
- Scott Walker Rallies Against Recall Efforts At CPAC 2012 (huffingtonpost.com)
- On and To Scott “the American Assad” Walker, the Godless, Soulless, Spineless, Bloodless, Heartless Governor of Wisconsin (spwg22.wordpress.com)
Quote of the Day – Wisconsin Governor Walker denies health care for his constituents
Wisconsin (unfortunately the state my son and his fiancee live in) will turn down $37 million from the federal government that had been awarded to help implement health care exchanges under President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, 
Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday.
This is regarded as a purely political decision by a Governor who is currently facing a major recall petition (over one million signatures) to remove him from office.
The American Cancer Society is among many organizations commenting on the situation:
“A robust, consumer-friendly health exchange designed specifically for Wisconsin would greatly expand access to care to those who need it most, while preserving what already works. It’s unfortunate the (Walker) administration is deciding to ignore this reality.”
– Allison Miller, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society.
One would hope that Wisconsin could get this turkey out of office as soon as possible and elect someone who has the concerns of the citizens ahead of party.
Here’s to everyone’s families on Thanksgiving Eve…
Tomorrow, families everywhere will be getting together to enjoy Thanksgiving, and I think it is Families we should be most thankful for.
Locally, Elly and I are going over to my daughter Penny’s to have delicious locally raised heirloom turkey with her and her three boys. Not all of our family will be there… but we all got together last Saturday (from as far away as Wisconsin and Connecticut and Virginia) for Elly’s surprise birthday party over at the Entler Hotel (one of our historic sites) in Shepherdstown. So many came in that they couldn’t all afford to get here tomorrow… but we did get to see everyone during the week.
So enjoy your family tomorrow and be good to each other.
Related articles
- Thanksgiving Eve (thefoodtruckchick.wordpress.com)
- Twenty Somethings Love: Thanksgiving Eve (forevertwentysomethings.com)
- Thanksgiving goes gourmet with high-end turkeys (mantrameds.wordpress.com)
- Happy Thanksgiving! (aa47.wordpress.com)
I’ll be doing Winners And Losers on WSHC all week…
John Case is off on his Blues Tour and is camping out in the Alleghenies among other things… so I’ll be doing the 7:30 – 9:00 AM show all week. If you are local, tune in 89.7 FM. If you are anywhere else in the USA you can tune in on the internet at http://www.897wshc.org and hear everything live.
You can call in, too, at 304.876.5369.
Roger Ebert on “The One Percenters…”
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Update:
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Under The LobsterScope 