It's a Great Question, Don't You Think?

Thanks to Iris for sharing this!

Red, Blue, Princess Diana & Sarah Palin

Is this a look at the real messages of the most recent debate or what? Let’s talk about the color choices!
The late Tim Russert apparently assigned the color red to Republican states and blue to those likely to be won by Democrats. Is it significant that Obama’s tie last night was blue-toned and McCain’s was red?
If so, the wives didn’t get the message: Michelle Obama wore a bright red dress; Cindy McCain wore an electric blue dress. Are the wives trying to cross party lines?

As an aside, look at the names of the two possible first ladies – Michelle and Cindy. Boy, what a change from most of those in the past. Eleanor, Mamie, Rosalynn, Bess, Claudia (yes, Claudia, also known as Lady Bird Johnson), Betty, Pat. The two most recent ones, Hillary and Laura, had contemporary-sounding names. By the way, which First Lady’s maiden name was Elizabeth Bloomer? You might remember her as Betty Ford.


This post was supposed to be about the partisan colors, though.


Oops! Just thought of one more thing. Did you hear the news that Sarah Palin is the 10th cousin of the late Princess Diana and also a relative of Franklin Roosevelt?




Okay, back to the colors. What do the colors red and blue really symbolize. The information below has the answers and it was found at http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/color/a/symbolism.htm.

B L U E

Calm and Cool :
Blue is calming. It can be strong and steadfast or light and friendly. Almost everyone likes some shade of the color blue.
Pantone has selected the color Blue Iris (PANTONE 18-3943) as the 2008 Color of the Year telling us: "Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple, Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement."
Nature of Blue:
A natural color, from the blue of the sky, blue is a universal color. The cool, calming effect of blue makes time pass more quickly and it can help you sleep. Blue is a good color for bedrooms. However, too much blue could dampen spirits.
Culture of Blue:
In many diverse cultures blue is significant in religious beliefs, brings peace, or is believed to keep the bad spirits away.
Blue conveys importance and confidence without being somber or sinister, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world and the blue uniforms of police officers. Long considered a corporate color, blue, especially darker blue, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.
Explore more Dark Blue Color Meanings.
Just as seeing red alludes to the strong emotions invoked by the color red, feeling blue or getting the blues represents the extremes of the calm feelings associated with blue, i.e. sadness or depression, lack of strong (violent) emotion. Dark blue is sometimes seen as staid or stodgy — old-fashioned.
In Iran, blue is the color of mourning while in the West the something blue bridal tradition represents love.
People describe How the color blue makes them feel
Using Blue:
A deep royal blue or azure conveys richness and perhaps even a touch of superiority. Navy blue is almost black and is a bit warmer than lighter blues. Combine a light and dark blue to convey trust and truthfulness — banker's colors. Although blue is a year-round color, pastel blues, especially along with pinks and pale yellows suggest Springtime while deep blue is a colder weather color. Create a conservative but sophisticated look with subtle contrast by combining light and dark shades of blue.
Language of Blue:
The use of blue in familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others, both the positive and negative aspects.
Good blue
· True blue - someone loyal and faithful
· Out of the blue - unexpected (could be positive or negative)
· Blue ribbon - first rate, top prize
· Blueblood - person of noble birth, royalty
· Bluestocking - well-read or scholarly woman
· Bluebook - register of socially prominent people
· The Blues (capitalized) - popular style of music sometimes characterized by melancholy melodies and words
· Baby blues - Blue eyes (also see Bad blue words)
Bad blue
· Feeling blue - feeling sad or depressed
· Blue devils - feelings of depression
· The blues (not capitalized) - depression, state of sadness
· Blue Monday - feeling sad
· Baby blues - post-partum depression
· Singing the blues - bemoaning one's circumstances
· Blue laws - laws originally intended to enforce certain moral standards
· Blue language - profanity
· Bluenose - puritanical individual
· Into the blue - entering the unknown or escape to parts unknown
· Out of the blue - unexpected (could be positive or negative)

R E D

Love and War:
Red is hot. It's a strong color that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. Red is Cupid and the Devil.
Nature of Red:
A stimulant, red is the hottest of the warm colors. Studies show that red can have a physical effect, increasing the rate of respiration and raising blood pressure.
The expression seeing red indicates anger and may stem not only from the stimulus of the color but from the natural flush (redness) of the cheeks, a physical reaction to anger, increased blood pressure, or physical exertion.
Culture of Red:
Red is power, hence the red power tie for business people and the red carpet for celebrities and VIPs (very important people).
Flashing red lights denote danger or emergency. Stop signs and stop lights are red to get the drivers' attention and alert them to the dangers of the intersection.
In some cultures, red denotes purity, joy, and celebration. Red is the color of happiness and prosperity in China and may be used to attract good luck.Red is often the color worn by brides in the East while it is the color of mourning in South Africa. In Russia the Bolsheviks used a red flag when they overthrew the Tsar, thus red became associated with communism. Many national flags use red. The red Ruby is the traditional Fortieth Wedding Anniversary gift.
Using Red:
Use the color red to grab attention and to get people to take action. Use red when you don't want to sink into the background. Use red to suggest speed combined with confidence and perhaps even a dash of danger. A little bit of red goes a long way. Small doses can often be more effective than large amounts of this strong color. Multiple shades of red and even pink or orange can combine for a cheerful palette.
Look at the use of the Color Red on the Web to find which of the named colors in the red family are the most attention-grabbing, mysterious, friendly, sophisticated, or mentally stimulating.
Language of Red:
The use of red in familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others — both the positive and negative aspects.
Good red
· Red letter day - important or significant occasion
· Red carpet treatment - make someone feel special, treat them as if they are a celebrity
· Roll out the red carpet - same as above
· Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight - pay attention to good and bad warning signs
· Paint the town red - celebrate, go out partying
· Red eye - an overnight flight
Bad red
· Seeing red - to be angry
· Red herring - something that deceives or distracts attention from the truth
· In the red - being overdrawn at the bank or losing money
· Red flag - denotes danger, warning, or an impending battle

Boogieman: The Lee Atwater Story

Do you remember Lee Atwater? I do.
Lee was unique, creative, driven, smart, persistent, loyal. Lots of folks didn’t like Lee or perhaps they were afraid of him. By many accounts, he used questionable tactics to win political campaigns – and he was good at it!
There’s a new documentary out about Lee; it’s called “Boogieman: The Lee Atwater Story.” I am eager to see it.
I’ve included below a newspaper article about Lee and the film.
About 20 years ago, when I was in the SC State Senate, I attended a national legislative conference. Lee was the keynote speaker for a luncheon meeting; his speech was carried live by some network, perhaps C-Span.
During the speech, Lee introduced me to the crowd, saying I was a state senator but that I had been his Sunday School teacher when he was a teenager.
After the speech, as we all left the banquet hall, a member of the California Assembly came up to me and said, “Well, I sure hope you’re a better senator than your were a Sunday School teacher!”
Lee loved that story!

Here's the link to a video from The State newspaper about the new film with excerpts: http://videos.thestate.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=2236637

Here's the article from The Post and Courier newspaper:

Documentary chronicles Atwater's rise to prominence
By Bill Thompson
The Post and Courier
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Photo from The News and Courier by J. Scott Applewhite/ap
President George H.W. Bush (left) trades looks with Lee Atwater during a rhythm and blues concert in Washington on Jan. 21, 1989. Atwater helped remake the Republican Party before his death in 1991.

Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rascal raised in Aiken, rose to the post of national chairman of the Republican National Committee and, arguably, became a household name in the process.
Karl Rove and George W. Bush called him mentor, and he played a pivotal role in the elections of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, having written the GOP playbook — complete, claim detractors, with dirty tricks and an assassin's sensibility.
Director Stefan Forbes' just released documentary, "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," chronicles his rise to prominence. In a series of interviews with Atwater's closest friends and adversaries, the film assays its subject's part in remaking of the Republican Party. To most conservatives, Forbes insists, this "godfather of the modern negative political campaign" remains a hero "for his deep understanding of the American heartland, his expert manipulation of the media, and his unapologetic vision of politics as war."
An InterPositive Media production already on DVD (www.boogiemanfilm.com), the 76-minute film has yet to be scheduled for a Charleston screening.
Featured in the picture are political observer Jack Bass of Charleston, Ed Rollins, former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, Tucker Eskew, Howard Fineman, Mary Matalin and Sam Donaldson, among others. Archival footage includes scenes of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, as well as Ann Richards, Ted Kennedy, Bob Dole and former President George H.W. Bush.
"I first became fascinated with Lee Atwater in 1989 when I saw him on TV, playing the blues at an Inaugural Gala," says Forbes in the movie's press notes. "The more I learned about Lee Atwater, the more his contradictions intrigued me. Atwater's life has been likened to Greek tragedy, and despite the hyperbole, the comparison may be apt."
Born in Atlanta, Atwater grew up in Aiken. As a teenager in Columbia, he played guitar in a rock in Aiken. As a teenager in Columbia, he played guitar in a rock band, The Upsetters Revue, and remained an R&B fan all his life. He graduated from Newberry College, then began his political ascent during the 1970s. In the 1980 election, he worked on the campaigns of Thurmond and Gov. Carroll Campbell. By this time, Atwater was earning a reputation for orchestrating tough, edgy campaigns based on emotional "wedge issues."
He was a campaign consultant to S.C. Republican incumbent Floyd Spence in his campaign for Congress against Democratic nominee Tom Turnipseed, devising tactics that allegedly included "push polling" in the form of bogus surveys by "independent pollsters" to sway white suburbanites who may have been on the fence.
Atwater ventured to Washington after the 1980 election to serve as an aide in the Reagan administration, toiling under political director Ed Rollins. During his years in the Nation's Capital, Atwater became associated with then-Vice President Bush, who selected him as his 1988 presidential campaign manager.
A characteristically aggressive media onslaught featured a TV ad related to the case of Willie Horton, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in a Massachusetts prison who committed a rape while participating in a weekend furlough. The furlough program was supported by then-governor Dukakis (but actually had been created by the previous governor, a Republican). The Horton campaign, originally produced by the independent group Americans for Bush, may or may not have been critical in helping Bush get elected.
During that campaign, Atwater became friends with future President George W. Bush. After the election, Atwater was named chairman of the RNC. But on the morning of March 5, 1990, Atwater collapsed during a fundraising event on behalf of Sen. Phil Gramm. Doctors found an unusually aggressive form of brain tumor. Radiation therapy was unsuccessful, and he died, age 39, on March 29, 1991.
Before his death, as an act of repentance, the newly converted Catholic issued a number of public and written letters of apology to people he had opposed during his career. In a February 1991 article for Life Magazine, Atwater wrote: "My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood."

What Would Your Palin Name Be?

Don't you wonder where Todd and Sarah Palin found the names for their children? There's Trig, Track, Willow, Piper and Bristol. Trig reminds me a school, specifically trigonometry. Track is a sporting event. Willow is a tree. Piper is an airplane. Bristol is a place, a racetrack and maybe even a shaving cream.

Anyway, I found a fun site that lets you enter your own name and find out what it would be if Todd and Sarah Palin had named you! Mine is Vise Peeper Palin!

Here's the link: http://politsk.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah_13.html. What would your name be? Give it a try here.

Leave a comment back here and let me know, okay?

Who Am I? (Surprise!)

Who am I?

I am under 45 years old.


I love the outdoors.


I hunt.


I am a Republican reformer.


I have taken on the Republican Party establishment.


I have many children.


I have a spot on the national ticket as vicepresident with less than two years in the governor's office.


So, who am I?




Answer:





Teddy Roosevelt in 1900.



Thanks to Mom for forwarding this info, originally sent to her by Tony & Peggy Ridgell.

Red Lizard and Funny Face

Who would have ever dreamed that, with all of the crucial issues facing the country and the world, the presidential campaigns would spend two or three days talking about lipstick? In the last week, I’ve heard more about lipstick from political reporters than about taxes, the environment, gas prices, Social Security, the military, Medicare, veterans, etc.

But, if it’s good enough for the candidates to talk about, it’s good enough for me to write about.

The Mesopotamians and then the Egyptians were the first to use lip color, including Cleopatra, a woman who was a political force in her time. The Mesopotamians used henna and also crushed jewels and stones and rubbed them on their lips for color. The Egyptians used a deep red dye from a seaweed and iodine to add color to the mouth. Cleopatra, known for her charm and beguiling ways, crushed beetles and ants to make her lip cosmetics. G-r-o-s-s!

US politicians have nothing on the Brits when it comes to this controversy. Queen Elizabeth I popularized red lipstick. Known as the “Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth made it quite fashionable to have lily-white skin and bright red lips.

But an English pastor, Thomas Hall, waged a war against lipstick. According to Industry Player, Hall said that face-painting was “the devil’s work.” And then Parliament got involved. (Thank goodness, Congress hasn’t gotten far into the lipstick issue.) Industry Player reports: “In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law condemning lipstick, stating that ‘women found guilty of seducing men into matrimony by a cosmetic means could be tried for witchcraft’.”

And then, in the 1800s, according to author Jessica Pallingston, “Queen Victoria publicly declared makeup impolite. It was viewed as vulgar and something that was worn by actors and prostitutes. Makeup took a backseat, and paleness became vogue for almost a century.”

Here we are in 2008 with lipsticks galore. I wonder who comes up with all of the names of the multitude of colors and shades – and how much they get paid for doing so.

Here are just a few of the names (without quotation marks because I don’t want to type that many): Poodle Skirt, Toast of New York, Heat Wave, Unzipped, Burnt Sienna, Orchid, Silver Touch, Sandstorm, Mulled Cider, Hot Voodoo, Royal Red, Copper Chrome, Naturally Hazelnut, Violette, Sable, Flamme, Wicked Brown, Prune Drama Girl, Star of India, Brickhouse, Pink in the Limo, Rock Icon Fuchsia, Mind Game, Violet Fashion Not Victim, Strike a Pose, Funky Diva, Camisole, All Done Up, Red Stiletto, Groupie, Front Page, Sugared Maple, Midnight Dip, Tropic Tease, Afghan Red, Barbarella, Catfight, Fire Down Below, Promiscuous – well, you get the picture.

Two names I’ve come across are ones I don't believe I'll be wearing - Red Lizard and Funny Face. Can you imagine such names????