It's a Scary Halloween

Here's the scary Halloween Pumpkin you'll find on the LipsYard front porch. Boo!

Here's the scariest thing ever for America! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Green Thursday: Ten Tips for a Green Halloween

Consumers are expected to spend $3.12 billion on candy, costumes and other Halloween goodies this year. That's a big pile of candy corn. It's also a lot of crumpled candy wrappers, paper party props and plastic political masks in the trash the very next day. So this Halloween, why not think green?

Here are Ten Tips to get you started:

1. E-mail party invites rather than snail-mail them. Free e-mail greetings abound online.

2. Serve healthy and seasonal foods. The options are endless. Remember pumpkins are not just decorative items. The tender meat of the seasonal gourd can be pureed for soups, mashed for pies or spiced up for a main entrée, such as an Indian curry. Apples also are at their best this time of year. So make use of the crunchy fruit.

3. Buy pumpkins, apples and other seasonal items from a farmer's market. Produce bought at farmers' market will not only taste better but saves energy. Most foods in the United States travel an average of 1,300 miles before reaching us, burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

4. Make use of all pumpkin parts. After carving a pumpkin, make sure to save the seeds. Bake them and serve them to party guests or feed them to our fine feathered friends, the birds. If possible, bury or compost the carcass.

5. Use re-usable plates, cups, utensils, napkins and tablecloths. Paper party goods can be expensive and just add more clutter to our nation's landfills.

6. Make your own costume or buy one at a second-hand shop. An old sheet still makes a great ghost. Many boomers also have some hippie clothes stashed somewhere, or hit up your nearby Goodwill.

7. Give out healthy treats like individual microwave popcorn packs. Newman's Own Organic has three varieties. How about honey sticks or fruit leather?

8. Instead of using paper or plastic disposable bags to collect treats, use or buy a recyclable bag. Old straw baskets or an old metal pot with a handle will work, too.

9. Teach your children well. Teach them not to litter. Tell them pumpkin jokes.

What's the ratio of a pumpkin's circumference to its diameter? Pumpkin Pi

How do you mend a broken Jack-O-Lantern? With a pumpkin patch

What is a pumpkin's favorite sport? Squash.

10. Experience nature. Visit a pumpkin farm. Pick fresh apples. Talk a long walk outside. Look up at the sky. Notice the moon. Remember, it's Halloween.

I Voted, Have You?

Mukwonago Village Hall, scene of my early vote. I was going to wait until next Tuesday, but was spurred on by the theft of my Obama sign from the front yard. Take that you crafty thieves!

In Wisconsin, early voting is conducted through the absentee ballot. It was an easy process. I walked in, said "I want to vote."

The clerk checked the voter roles to make sure I was on it. (If you aren't, you can register AND vote in the same visit.) Next, she had me fill out a form, then fill out information on the envelope that will hold my ballot until next Tuesday.

I then received my ballot, and the clerk gave me a quick primer on how to select my choices by filling in the arrows with a black marker.

Off I went to my private polling station where I made my choices. I double checked it, then folded it in half and placed it in my envelope. When I returned it to the clerk, she glued it shut and put it in the vault for safe keeping.

Total time = 8 minutes! No long wait on Tuesday.

You can vote in the offices of municipal clerks until 5 p.m. Nov. 3, the day before the election. Some communities offering extended hours are Madison (8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday) and Milwaukee (8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays; 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday).

Any eligible voter can vote by absentee ballot. You no longer have to state a reason, such as being out of town on election day.

Click HERE for your Wisconsin early voting location

Click HERE to see the ballot before you vote

Bring Back My Sign

Less than 48 hours after I put up our Obama yard sign, it was stolen. This is where it was until someone took the campaign into their own hands. Last night I noticed that ALL the Obama signs in our town were gone (when the place you live is so RED, you know where all the Obama signs are.)

Luckily, I bought two (yes, you have to pay for signs,) so the spare is now INSIDE the front window.

It's the Great Penguin, Charlie Brown! Trick or Treaters at the LipsYard House were met by a giant Emperor, me. Most enjoyed the costume, except those who cried in terror. Bwaha ha ha!

Even Scarier for Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign, was the The Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest newspaper, endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama after declaring Gov. Sarah Palin "too risky" to be one step away from the Oval Office.

The newspaper said Obama "brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand."

The Daily News said since the economic crisis has emerged, McCain has "stumbled and fumbled badly" in dealing with it.

"Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it."

In a final blow, bound to trigger revenge from the hockey mom, the paper said few would argue that Palin is truly ready to step into the job of being president.

Read the entire endorsement HERE.

Burning Bush and Other Hot Items

The Burning Bush (euonymous ) outside the kitchen window is gorgeous again this year. All summer long it has patiently waited, staying all green and such, until now, when its leaves turn a vibrant red.

Also turning red and heating up is John McCain's. He's finally had to comment on his campaign's $150,000 spent on coutour clothes, hair-styling, and accessories for Sarah Palin. We're not talking diapers at Walmart, either. The Alaskan princess' new wardrobe is made up of pricey items from Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. I don't think "Joe the Plumber" shops there very much.

$2,500 Valentino jacket

McCain wasn't happy when he was asked several questions about the shopping spree on his campaign bus between Florida rallies, and he answered each one more or less the same way: "She needed clothes at the time. They'll be donated at end of this campaign. They'll be donated to charity."

Asked for details by reporters on how they'll be donated, McCain said, "It works by her getting some clothes when she was made the nominee of the party and it will be donated back to charity."

Asked if he was surprised at the amount spent, McCain said, "It works that the clothes will be donated to charity. Nothing surprises me."

McCain offered no further comment, except to say that the Republican National Committee doesn't buy his clothes.

Also on Thursday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a private watchdog group in Washington, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Palin, the Republican National Committee and several political operatives alleging that the purchase of clothing for Palin and her family violates the Federal Election Campaign Act. The law prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use. CREW notes that FEC regulations make clear the prohibition applies to clothing but also provides that donations by candidates to charity are not for personal use. CREW argued this exception might apply to Palin's clothes but doesn't appear to apply to clothes for her family. Yes, they all got in on the shopping spree!

The Palin Clan post makeover at the RNC

Asked who had paid for the suit he was wearing, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said: "I pay for my suits. I pay for all of my own clothing."

Green Thursday: Half of Us are Doomed!

Not to worry you on a nice fall day, but, scientists say that our planet is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals, with nearly 50 percent of all species disappearing.

The current extinction event is due to human activity, like paving the planet and creating pollution. Duh!

Biologists at the University of California-Santa Barbara are working to determine which species need to be saved. Hopefully, we'll make the cut.

The last mass extinction happened about 65 million years ago when a meteor struck the Earth.

The complete report is at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Every Green Thursday we post items vital to the survival of the planet.

Summer Green Becomes Fall Color

As we head through autumn, the back of the LipsYard house is starting to show some color. (l-r) The Burning bush (euonymous) has started to go bright red, the Lilies (lilium) have gone brown, the Witch Hazel (hamamelis) is yellowing, the tall Vibernum has a hint of orange and red, and the Clethra has gone from lime to lemon.


We're also seeing the Republican party losing it's summer green, having already passed through fall color and now near the death of winter.


Richard Cohen of the Washington Post details;


How the GOP went so sadly astray.


A column, like a good movie, should have an arc -- start here, end there and somehow connect the two points. So this column will begin with the speech Condi Rice made to the Republican National Convention in 2000 in praise of George W. Bush and end with Colin Powell's appearance Sunday on "Meet the Press" in praise of Barack Obama. Between the first and the second lie the ruins of the GOP, a party gone very, very wrong.


It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Bush and now John McCain have constructed a mean, grumpy, exclusive, narrow-minded and altogether retrograde Republican Party. It has the sharp scent of the old Barry Goldwater GOP -- the angry one of 1964 and not the one perfumed by nostalgia -- that is home, by design or mere dumb luck, to those who think that Obama is "The Madrassian Candidate." Karl Rove, take a bow.

It is worth remembering that both Rice and Powell spoke at that Philadelphia convention. And it is worth recalling, too, that Bush ran as a "compassionate conservative" and had compiled a record as Texas governor to warrant the hope, if not the belief, that he was indeed a different sort of Republican. When he ran for reelection as governor in 1998, he went from 15 percent of the black vote to 27 percent, and from 28 percent of the Hispanic vote to an astounding 49 percent. Here was a coalition-builder of considerable achievement.

Now, all this is rubble. It is not merely that Barack Obama was always going to garner the vast majority of the black vote. It is also that the GOP, under Rove and his disciples in the McCain campaign, has not only driven out ethnic and racial minorities but a vast bloc of voters who, quite bluntly, want nothing to do with Sarah Palin. For moderates everywhere, she remains the single best reason to vote against McCain.

But the GOP's tropism toward its furiously angry base, its tolerance and currying of anti-immigrant sentiment, its flattering of the ignorant on matters of undisputed scientific consensus -- evolution, for instance -- and, from the mouth of Palin, its celebration of drab provincialism, have sharpened the division between red and blue. Red is the color of yesterday.

Ah, I know, the blues are not all virtuous. They are supine before self-serving unions, particularly in education, and they are knee-jerk opponents of offshore drilling, mostly, it seems, because they don't like Big Oil. They cannot face the challenge of the Third World within us -- the ghetto with its appalling social and cultural ills -- lest realism be called racism. Sometimes, too, they seem to criticize American foreign policy simply because it is American.

Still, a Democrat can remain a Democrat -- or at least vote as one -- without compromising basic intellectual or cultural values. That, though, is not what Colin Powell was saying Sunday about his own party. "I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years," Powell said. "It has moved more to the right than I would like." He cited McCain's harping on that "washed-out terrorist" Bill Ayers as an effort to exploit fears that Obama is a Muslim (so what if he were? Powell rightly asked) and mentioned how Palin's presence on the ticket raised grave questions about McCain's judgment. In effect -- and at least for the time being -- Powell was out of the GOP. S'long, guys.

Those of us who traveled with Bush in the 2000 campaign could tell that when he spoke of education, of the "soft bigotry of low expectations," he meant it. Education, along with racial and ethnic reconciliation, was going to be his legacy. Then came Sept. 11, Afghanistan and finally the misbegotten war in Iraq. After that, nothing else really mattered. But just as Bush could not manage the wars, he could not manage his own party. His legacy is not merely in tatters. It does not even exist.

In the end, Powell was determined not to be one of the GOP's useful idiots. Those moderates willing to overlook the choice of Palin, those capable of staying in a party where, soon enough, she could be an important or dominant force, retain the intellectual nimbleness that enabled them to persist in championing a war fought for duplicitous reasons and extol cultural values they do not for a minute share. Powell walked away from that, and others will follow -- the second time that a senator from Arizona has led the GOP into the political wilderness.

Digging Up Dirt

Another annual fall task is to turn over the LipsYard Garden. As always, we added the compost we had made of last years yard and garden waste.

Oops! While the McCain campaign was busy trying to dig up dirt on Barack Obama's contributors, they were asking the Russian envoy for money!

In the letter, signed by McCain, the Republican Presidential candidate urged Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, to contribute anywhere from $35 to $5,000 to help ensure McCain's victory over Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, currently ahead in voter preference polls.

"If I have the honour of continuing to serve you, I make you this promise: We will always put America -- her strength, her ideals, her future -- before every other consideration," McCain assured Churkin.

Moscow's mission to the United Nations issued a terse statement on the Republican presidential candidate's letter, saying that the Russian government and its officials "do not finance political activity in foreign countries." (Perhaps a personal visit by Sarah Palin to her "backyard neighbors" would have yeilded a contribution?)

A spokesman for McCain, a long-time critic of Russia, pointed the finger of blame at an error in their mailing list. Wonder how many other "mistakes" got sent to U.N. headquarters?

Earlier this month, both McCain and Obama harshly criticized Russia for invading Georgia two months ago, but neither was willing to say yes when asked if Russia under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was the "evil empire."

It is illegal for U.S. presidential candidates to accept funds from foreign sources. The McCain campaign accused Obama earlier this month of not doing enough to screen for illegal contributors and asked U.S. election officials to investigate.

Fall's (True) Colors

It's autumn in the LipsYard, and this week I'll have some nice fall color shots from around the house. This is the Northeast corner, featuring (l-r) the multicolored Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea,) the burgundy Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius,) and still green Vibernum.

Gen. Colin Powell showed on Meet the Press not only endorsed Barack Obama for President, but exposed the true colors of the McCain campaign for the underhanded tactics they're using.

Oh Oh! Better Call Joe the Plumber.

We woke up this morning to a frozen birdbath! Better call Joe the Plumber.

He's the guy that Barack Obama ran into in Ohio the other day that quizzed the candidate on his tax policy. Joe wanted to buy the plumbing company he worked for, and feared that he would be taxed to death if he made more than $250,000. The Republicans quickly pounced on Joe, and used him in the debate against Obama. His name came up 26 times! Now the evil mainstream media has done their job and uncovered some stuff about Joe:

Turns out he's not a licensed plumber.
Joe isn't his real name, it's Samuel. Joe is his middle name.
He only made $40,000 last year, and just like Sarah Palin, doesn't think paying taxes is patriotic, so he's got a lien against his house for not paying $1,200 in property taxes.
He's only voted one time, that was last May, and his name on the roles is mis-spelled. Did ACORN sign him up wrong to mess with the vote?

Like all the other slings and arrows thrown around in this campaign, Joe the Plumber is just another half truth.

Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg news has some thoughts on Joe the Plumber, too:

"The most dispiriting thing to come out of the debate was the morning after. I woke to see Joe (the plumber) Wurzelbacher's street in Holland, Ohio, lit up like Times Square with network and cable satellite trucks clogging the place.

I thought the press was beyond 23 mentions of Joe the Plumber by one candidate and three by the other, while Asian markets were dropping 10 percent and the Dow has been diving. Unless he starts making courtesy calls to fix the running toilets of the journalists making him famous, let's relegate Joe the Plumber back to the playroom with Bob the Builder or the 15-minute hall of fame with Harry and Louise and Ross Perot's crazy aunt in the attic.

Here's the reason for Joe: McCain has no argument left except that no one should have to pay taxes, and that Obama isn't one of us."

Read Margaret's full column HERE.

Green Thursday: Green Living Leaves Smaller Footprints

EATING GREEN HELPS PLANET AND WAISTLINES
Researchers say that for those wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, eating green may be as important as driving green, not to mention the health benefit.

Nutrition experts said eating green can benefit the waistline as well as the environment.

To eat green, the experts recommend:

• Buy local and seasonal. Farmers markets remain the best bet, but many grocery stores have started offering a greater selection of locally grown foods.


• Limit reliance on processed and packaged foods. Fresh foods have fewer fats and refined flours than many pre-packaged foods.


• Doggy bag leftovers. Only buy and prepare what you intend to eat. If you go out or make too much at home, repurpose the leftovers for another meal later in the week such as pizzas, salads, soups, tacos or pasta dishes.


• Occasionally replacing beef with chicken or eggs can help reduce your carbon footprint and reduce fat intake.

Every Green Thursday we post information vital to the survival of the inhabitants of the planet.

Herb Week: Mint, How Sweet It Is!

We wrap up Herb Week(s) with my favorite: Mint (Mentha piperita.) We grow it in a separate pot because it spreads very quickly, and would saoon take over the LipsYard Garden.

The potent taste of the leaves - very strong menthol - takes your breath away. Very cool and clean indeed. Mint is used commercially in liqueurs, toothpastes, soaps, and mouthwashes because of its strong, pure qualities. In medicines, it is used not only as a pleasant flavoring, but
also because it contains healing properties as well. In my opinion, everything's better with a little sprig of mint!

Now for something else that's sweet:


Sarah Palin (Harris) playing the flute in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest.

Herb Week: Steeping Basil

In the back of the LipsYard Garden grows Basil (Ocimum basilicum.) There's this small leaf variety...

...and the more recognizable large leaf plant.

Basil leaves are used in soups, stews, pasta sauce, poultry and meat dishes; flavors for vinegar, and teas.

Much has been made of Republican Sarah Palin's participation in the Vice Presidential debate with Joe Biden, but NY Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman picked up on a particularly "taxing" point that had been steeping in his teapot for a few days.

Palin's Kind of Patriotism
Thomas L. Friedman

Criticizing Sarah Palin is truly shooting fish in a barrel. But given the huge attention she is getting, you can’t just ignore what she has to say. And there was one thing she said in the debate with Joe Biden that really sticks in my craw. It was when she turned to Biden and declared: “You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”

What an awful statement. Palin defended the government’s $700 billion rescue plan. She defended the surge in Iraq, where her own son is now serving. She defended sending more troops to Afghanistan. And yet, at the same time, she declared that Americans who pay their fair share of taxes to support all those government-led endeavors should not be considered patriotic.

I only wish she had been asked: “Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.

Read the rest of Friedman's piece HERE

Herb Week: Thyme For Change

Who knew we had so many herbs? (Today marks the start of Herb Week #3) This is Thyme (Thymus vulgaris.) Ancient Egyptians used thyme in embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs."

In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

Thyme is a good source of iron and is used widely in cooking. Thyme is a basic ingredient in French, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Persian, Spanish, Syrian, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Arab and Caribbean cuisines.

Thyme is often used to flavour meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavour with lamb, tomatoes and eggs.

It's really a shame that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel decided to take Doonesbury off the editorial page, eliminating it from the paper altogether. This is Sunday's strip, where frame by frame, creator Gary Trudeau takes aim at Sarah Palin's past and the Republican party's attempts to deal with it. (click on the cartoon to take you to a larger, more readable version.)

Thyme for Change? You bet!

Herb Week: Rosemary, is that you?

Next stop on the herb walk: Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis.) The origin of this herb’s name is woven into folklore. It is said that the Virgin Mary had draped her cloak over this bush and placed a white flower on top of her cloak. In the morning the flower turned blue and thereafter the plant was called Rose of Mary.

Rosemary has many uses: teas; flavoring for vinegar, jam, bread, butters, stuffing, vegetables, stew, and meat dishes. The most creative use we've seen lately was as a skewer for shrimp. Yum!

Will you be sporting a politcal costume this Halloween? Who's mask will you be hiding behind? National Halloween costume retailer, Spirit Halloween, has picked the winner in the past three presidential elections days before the general election results were in.

The Spirit Halloween Presidential Index measures sales of the masks, and in 2004, sales were 65 percent to 35 percent for George W. Bush over John Kerry.

In 2000, more folks purchased Bush masks, with Bush sales at 57 percent to 43 percent for Al Gore.

In 1996, Bill Clinton masks were snapped up 71 percent to Bob Dole's 29 percent.

What's the forecast this year? So far, the mask factor is looking good for Sen. Barack Obama. After the first month of Halloween sales this year (Aug. 30 to Oct. 3), Obama was leading 67 percent to Sen. John McCain's 33 percent.

Trick or Treat?

Green Thursday: One Quarter Of All Mammals Face Extinction

The Caspian Seal (Pusa caspica) is the smallest of the world's seals and lives only in the inland Caspian Sea in Asia. The Caspian Seal population, devastated in recent decades by wolves and by distemper virus, is further shrinking due to pollution and the loss of its habitat

At least one-quarter of the world's mammals in the wild are threatened with extinction, according to a new international survey that blames the loss of wildlife habitat, hunting and poaching for the steep declines.

A cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) rests at the animal orphanage in Nairobi's National Park. The world's fastest land animal also faces habitat loss.

The survey, assembled over five years by 1,700 researchers in 130 countries, is the most comprehensive yet to assess the status and future of mammals on every continent and in every ocean.

The "baiji," or Chinese river dolphin, faces extinction and already might have joined the species that have vanished from Earth. Others are not far behind, such as the "vaquita," a small porpoise that is drowning in fishing nets in the northern Gulf of California; the North Atlantic right whale, and various monkeys and other primates hunted by poachers in Africa.

Scientists have determined that about one-quarter of the world's 5,487 species of mammals are threatened with extinction. The proportion of marine mammals in trouble appears to be higher, with an estimated one-third facing a serious threat of being wiped out. Many are killed when they are struck by ships or entangled in fishing gear.

The Tasmanian devil (Sacropilus harrasii), a fierce, small, dog-like marsupial, is found only on the Australian island of Tasmania. Its population has declined by more than 60 percent over the past 10 years due to a fatal infectious cancer.

About one-half of the world's remaining apes, monkeys and other primates face threats from hunting or destruction of forests to make way for farming. Chimp and gorilla meat fetches a higher price in many markets in Central African cities than beef or chicken because it's considered a luxury item.

Scientists find mammal extinction worrisome because a diversity of species stabilizes the planet. Each extinction disrupts this balance and ripples through the food chain, making it difficult for other species, including humans, to survive.

The bleak assessment was released in Barcelona at the World Conservation Congress, a meeting of 8,000 scientists, conservationists, business leaders and representatives from governmental environmental ministries. It was part of a larger update to the Red List of all threatened species maintained by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which hosts this gathering every four years.

The Red List has several categories, including: extinct; extinct in the wild; and threatened with extinction, including critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable.

Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programs for the Zoological Society of London, said that a sampling shows that 24 percent of all vertebrates -- those animals with a backbone — appear to face extinction. To track the health and abundance of all species is too massive a job, Baillie said, but he suggested that such sampling might be tantamount to creating a Dow Jones industrial average index for the planet's biodiversity. In this case though, he said, "there's no 700-billion-dollar bailout on the horizon."

The Red List once was published as a book, but the endangered list has grown so long -- now 44,838 species — that it is now an online catalog at www.iucn.org/redlist.

Every Green Thursday we post information vital to the survival of the planet.

Herb Week: Oregano, isn't that on the West Coast?

As we walk the path of herbs in the LipsYard Garden, our next stop is Oregano (Origanum vulgare.)
Oregano is best known for flavoring tomato dishes, meat, poultry, and pork stuffings; vegetables, sauces, etc.

With the election just a few weeks away, here's a nice picture of the race that carries a little spice of its own. Enjoy!

Herb Week: Flying Lavender People Eater

Down the walk of herbs we go, today pausing at Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia.)

Unlike other colors, we've come to associate a scent with the color lavender. Run a blossom through our fingers, and it's "scratch and sniff" time in the LipsYard Garden. It's a rather "girlie" scent, and it's uses include: Potpourris; herb pillows (there's one hanging in our closet;) crafts, vinegars, jellies.

Here's a piece about how to watch, scratch, and sniff tonight's second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. With both sides ratcheting up the personal attacks, (as always happens in the final days of a campaign,) two gentlemen (not the candidates) who know a thing or two weigh in on the fine art of debate.

Questions to ask as you watch the debates
By SEAN PATRICK O’ROURKE and RON MANUTO

After the first presidential debate, many of us might be tempted to ignore the other two, to assume that we have heard too much already or to believe that debates between candidates mean nothing.

Don't do it. We are in crisis. Our national debt is at a record high, $11.3 trillion. Unemployment, homelessness and home foreclosures are up, the markets are unstable, energy prices are at record highs and public distrust of political leadership is unprecedented. Terrorism continues to rise, and tribal feuds and insurgencies continue to hurt our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So don't let the cynics mislead you. The debates do matter. Debates require the candidates to develop substantive arguments. While debate purists might complain about the "joint press conference" formats, debates nonetheless reveal differences. They enable us to see where the candidates agree, where and to what extent they disagree and how those disagreements matter. And they do so far better than a bumper sticker, endorsement or TV commercial ever could.

The candidates know this. They know that when they face each other before the American people, all the rehearsal, all the spin of the advance men, can disappear in an instant. Assertions are questioned and accusations answered. Distortions are challenged. Misrepresentations are corrected. If we are lucky, falsehoods are exposed. Real issues emerge, and the candidates cannot help but reveal themselves.

For this reason, the debates require us to set aside the myths and illusions of the campaign's drama, to face the real requirements of citizenship. That's why, instead of letting the media tell us who "won," we can and should judge the debates ourselves.

Here's how:

Set aside prior opinions and focus first on the issues. Weigh the evidence and assess the arguments as a juror would in a criminal trial. Some questions to keep in mind are:

• What issues matter to each candidate? Why? Are they the issues that matter to you?

• Where do the candidates clash? Are there significant differences? Do you find yourself agreeing more with one candidate than the other? Why? On what grounds?

• On matters of policy, debaters carry certain burdens. An advocate of change must identify clearly what is wrong with the current system, how we are harmed by it, what the costs are and how the policy he proposes will solve the problem. Those who defend existing policies must show that the system is working and must supply evidence of that success. And remember, slogans are not evidence.

• On questions of value, candidates also carry certain burdens. So, for instance, when candidates champion the value of change, we should ask, how do they define the term? What do they think it means? Change from what? To what? Do they tolerate those with dissenting views? Most important, do they (or their agents) act in accord with the values they promote?

• In all of this, we must be attentive to what evidence or proof the candidates offer. Do they make assertions without evidence? When they use evidence, is it from sources with a heavy bias or vested interest? Are examples representative? Overall, do they offer good reasons for the positions they take?

Issues alone, however, are only part of a presidential debate. Perhaps just as important are what we might call "character questions" - not who smiles or is "just plain folk" but who is fit for the job. Debates offer an excellent opportunity to see candidates under fire, to assess their ability to respond to tough questions in difficult circumstances:

• Are the candidates poised under pressure? Do they continue to speak clearly and think cogently? Are they easily rattled? Angered? Flustered? Repetitive?

• Are the candidates competent? Do they have their facts straight? Are they aware of complexities or do they oversimplify by repeating campaign clichés?

• Are the candidates people of integrity? Do they pretend to be someone they are not? Are they principled? Do they stand their ground when they should and admit error where appropriate? Have they acted in ways consistent with the values expressed?

• Do the candidates speak out of self-interest? Do they represent the interests of a special few? Or is the well-being of the nation as a whole their primary concern?

These and other questions should provide us with the ability to judge the debates, to exercise our civic duty responsibly and to participate fully in the election process.

Sean Patrick O'Rourke was an award-winning debate coach at Humboldt State University and the University of Oregon. He now teaches argumentation and debate at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. Ron Manuto coached debate and taught argumentation at Oregon State University. He now lives in California, where he writes full time.

Herb Week: Parsley a day goes bye

Next in line along the path of herbs in the LipsYard Garden is Parsley (Petroselinum crispum.)

Uses for parsley include: Garnish; flavoring for salads, stews, soups, sauces, and salad dressings. If you munch a little after dinner, you'll get clean, fresh breath.


Now that the polls are going towards Barack Obama, hardly a day will go bye without a new, nasty, attack from the Republicans, especially the pitbull (in lipstick.)

We'll we're not sitting on our hands. In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, John McCain wants to change the subject from the central question of this election.
Perhaps that's because the policies McCain supported these past eight years are pretty hard to defend.

The Obama campaign put together a documentary about why John McCain's failed philosophy and poor judgment are a recipe for deepening the crisis.

Watch the documentary now and share it with others:

Herb Week: Lovage a many splendored thing, also

Herb Week rolls on (and don't be surprised if next week is Herb Week 2,) with Lovage (Levisticum officinale.)

Lovage leaves are used to flavor food, especially in South European cuisine. It has a very distinctive taste, something similar to celery. It is also used to make a liquor of the same name. Haven't tasted it, but it was referenced in a Broadway play "Lettice and Lovage."

Did you watch the debate last night? I tried to listen in the car on the way home from church choir, but I couldn't get past her voice. Pretty shallow of me. All I could think of was Tina Fey on "Saturday Night Live" doing Palin, then back on the radio, I couldn't decide if it really was Sarah or Tina. I turned it off and practiced with my Midwest Vocal Express CD.

True to form, all the right talkers felt she "won" and all the left bloggers felt Sen. Biden ("Can I call you Joe?") "won."

I found the response from conservative pundit, Kathleen Parker, entertaining.

The VP Debate: She Won Fersure, Also

Well, darnit all, if that dadgum girl (wink, wink) didn't beat the tarnation out of Joe Biden. Maverick Sarah Palin fersure surpassed expectations and said everything under the sun, also. And Biden smiled and smiled.

Palin is a populist pro. She hit all the notes that resonate with non-elite Americans: family (Hi Mom and Dad!), "Can I call ya Joe?" personal responsibility, Wall Street greed, children with special needs. Her most effective technique was speaking directly to the American people and letting Joe know that's what she was gonna do, doggonit.

Stylistically, she used the language of the people to great effect. And, you know what? If you want to know what the American people care about, you can go to a kid's soccer game on Saturday and ask parents how they feel, and "I'll betcha you're going to hear some fear."

I'll have to go to the transcript to figure out what Palin actually said and try to figure out whose facts were right. But there's no question: She won the debate on popularity. She did her homework, studied hard, and delivered with spunk. Still, I had the uneasy feeling throughout that I was witnessing a data dump from a very appealing droid. Even the winks and jaw juts seemed slightly programmed.

And the question remains: Is she ready to be president should the need arise?

Green Thursday: Hockey goes green

While a certain Hockey mom from Alaska is cramming for her big debate tonight, we're encouraged by a local hockey story:

WAUKESHA COUNTY CONSIDERS USING ICE TO HEAT ICE ARENAS
Study points to alternative powered ice rinks

Waukesha, WIS. – Exploring more sustainable energy management opportunities at Eble and Naga-Waukee Ice Arenas is the top recommendation identified in Waukesha County’s Ice Arena Study.

County Executive Dan Vrakas says, “I would like to thank study group participants for their willingness to provide the County with their recommendations on how to better ice arena operations. I am pleased that the number one study outcome points to more sustainable energy usage. After replacing existing metal halide lights with linear florescent lights at each facility last year, the County anticipates saving taxpayers $10,000 per calendar with a payback in less than 3.8 years.

With support from the study group and my administration, I look forward to analyzing and proposing other ice rink efficiencies that conserve energy and save real, ongoing dollars to allow for continued affordable fee based recreational opportunities in the future.”As part of the County’s Sustainability Initiative and in response to study results, the Department of Parks and Land Use is researching tested and sustainable ice arena energy management options, and has determined that the most promising renewable energy systems are geothermal and solar thermal heat exchange at this type of facility.

Geothermal systems use near constant natural soil temperature of approximately 54 degrees and heat pumps to transfer heat from the ground to the building in winter and from the building to the ground in summer. In addition, waste energy from the ice making process could be used to heat spectator seating areas, locker rooms and other parts of each complex. A comparable sustainability project at an ice arena in Rochester, Minnesota is projected to realize annual energy savings of 40% and a near elimination of natural gas use.

The goal of the Ice Arena Study was to identify operational efficiencies, maximize profitability and examine different ownership opportunities. Study group members, which consisted of ice arena management experts, youth hockey advocates, local business leaders and County budget staff, determined that the County should maintain its ownership of the two rinks and concluded that staff should focus on energy reduction efforts and maximizing profitability to achieve greater efficiencies.

Study group member Margie Krauski says, “We researched and analyzed options including sale, leasing and continued County ownership of the ice arenas. Given the ice arenas ability to cover their annual operating costs, concern over the loss of trust from the donors who contributed over $1.5 million to construct the arenas, and the viability of lease arrangements, continued County ownership was the best business decision.”

In addition to ownership options and energy reduction improvements, the study group evaluated if additional value could be added to the ice arenas by better maximizing profitability. “Our recommendations include expanding learn-to-skate programming beyond the current partnerships to include area YMCA’s; evaluating opportunities for dry floor events; continuing to work with area school districts to promote open skating or special events; and targeting organizations and facilities that serve senior citizens, disabled individuals, home school families, day camps, and day care operators to fill midday, limited availability ice times,” announces study group member Stan Riffle.

County staff is currently working with its existing municipal, school district and non-profit partners to provide additional and/or extended programming at its ice arenas. They are also exploring potential non-profit agency summer camps.

The two Waukesha County-owned ice arenas are operated by the Department of Parks and Land Use. Eble Ice Arena is located in Brookfield and Naga-Waukee Ice Arena is located in Delafield. Both facilities offer a variety of skating programs, which include public skate, senior skate, youth hockey, adult hockey, figure skating, learn-to-skate sessions, and public and private party facility and equipment rentals.

For more information about Waukesha County’s ice arenas, go to www.waukeshacountyparks.com.

Every Green Thursday we post information vital to the continued existence of the planet.