The use of published songs in bumper music as well as in talk radio and political events is considered to be public domain. No permission needed.

Such a waste of time analyzing details. Your time would be better spent debating facts and issues rather than filibustering about trivial happenings.

The last sentence of the comment should correctly read "As such, I prefer rather to focus on the positive end of the spectrum, yet, in being called on to defend my words, I stand by my characterizations....Peace...."

Don't let the glass ceiling reference confuse you, as an able minded American male, I am fully cognizant of the inequities relative to employment, advancement and compensation equivalency disparities regarding women and gender based bias, but that is not to say that the proverbial "glass ceiling" applies only to their specific gender, as the metaphor is clearly applicable to age, race and disability as well. As such, ignoring the reality of the situation will not make it disappear and bringing it into the mainstream realm of comprehension is one more way that it may be potentially addressed.

The convention and its surrounding ambience at the base of the Rocky Mountains, symbolism and all, as well as being a critical swing state, was central to its imagery, yet, it was also the technical execution of it all which was a critical defining attribute. The ability to gather, manage, assemble, choreograph, stage and execute with near flawless technical perfection is meritorious unto itself, in that it was organizationally, competently, professionally, as well as artistically, fluent. The success of this event is evidence that Sen. Obama has the superlative ability to focus, harness and effectively utilize the "symbiosis" and synergy of his own talents with those around him with maximum efficiency, as well as to maximum effectiveness and avail, and on the depth chart, far exceeds the superficial threshold of "power perceived is power achieved", the root of the rhetoric of those who seek to attack him.

In stark contrast, the Sen. John McCain rollout and introduction "assembly" of his newly chosen vice presidential running mate Gov. Sarah Palin in Dayton, Ohio, was in my opinion a "cringeworthy" event. The 10,000 seat arena was clearly not near to capacity, and as such, the camera viewing angle never deviated from the tight shot perspective, suggesting a larger than actual crowd. From the outset, upon the introduction of Gov. Palin, (in my opinion) an overly symphonic theme loudly played her in as she entered the stage area, and due to the mismatched syncopation of the music vs.the actual flow and timing of the actions, it overtly did not fit the demeanor nor the ambience of the event. As well, during the first part of Sen. McCain's introduction there was an annoying reverberation and feedback emanating from his microphone, which only served to denigrate the staging and appearance of what was obviously meant to be a regal presentation. Aside from the plethora of verbal and visual miscues throughout the presentation, the event ended in the same inept way as it started. Upon finishing the speeches, and as they made their way off the stage, the prelude to Van Halen's "Right Now" started playing, and as anyone who is familiar with the song knows, the prelude itself (singular lingering bass chords) portrays mounting tension and a foreshadowed anxiety prior to breaking into the main body of the song, which, needless to say, sadly mischaracterized the imagery and ambience once again. And to add insult to injury, as reported, Van Halen management stated that the band had no idea that the McCain campaign intended to use the song, and furthermore stated that "Permission was not sought or granted, nor would it have been given." This is the second time that the McCain campaign has not sought or obtained the proper clearances and permissions to use songs. As you may remember, it was two weeks ago that Jackson Browne filed suit against the McCain campaign (as well as the RNC and Ohio Republican party) for unauthorizedly using his song "Running on Empty" in an ad hominem attack commercial against Sen. Obama, which was run in Ohio. And in a continuing pattern regarding his surrogacy and implausible denials of responsibility and culpability, the McCain campaign stated that the Ohio Republican party had acted independently, and therefore Sen. McCain (once again) bore no responsibilty. Therefore I ask you, does or does not John McCain have control of his circumstances and his surrounding organizational apparatus?

In providing the basis of the aforementioned scenarios, my point is simply that as merely, or grandiosely, staging a purely publicity laden event, large or small, acumen and proficiency relative to organizational competency is paramount and that successful execution of such is key, especially when it is representative of the organization and management skills of the central figure, he whom seeks to be the leader of the United States of America, and as such, should rightly be expected. I did not choose to go down this road regarding this subject, you did, and as such, I feel that there is compelling evidence here, minute as it may seem relative to the actual issues of the day, that there is in fact another question here regarding John McCain's ability to competently, effectively, efficiently and "symbiotically" harness the circumstances and operational mechanisms immediately around him (and if he chooses to pass on the responsibility to those whom he "delegated" the responsibility to, then the question needs to be asked whether sound judgement was used in choosing them). As such, I prefer rather to focus on the positive end of the spectrum, yet, in being called on the defend my words, I stand by my characterizations....Peace....

Ignorance is name calling to illicit an emotional response. I have noted that mevans does a nice job of that. It only hurts the progressive cause.

Mevans, it is not about race, it is about policy and attitude.

I say if the name fits, wear it.

The last couple of weeks, the term racist has been used against me three times by people responding to this forum. It was used again against respondents again today.

You are concerned about Vreeland Hill having his say, then you must be a champion of others that are branded as "neo-cons", "idiots", "greedy" by progressives of having their say as well......right?

It angers me that someone accuses me of using against someone like Vreeland Hill. It is obvious that he is not a racist....you could say he is a lot of other things but not a 'racist'. Let me be clear that I was criticizing others for practicing what they find supposedly distasteful in others.

Racist is a term that should never be used in the way it is.

First and foremost, Henniker Mom, the title was RE: which means I was responding to a post of that name....not Mr. Vreeland Hill...so read that post first!

"It is amazing that the person who champions Vreeland Hill's right to speak seems to not champion anyone elses." THIS REFERS TO VREELAND HILLS AND THE NEXT REFERS TO CRITICISM ABOUT MY POST.

The "racist" term should not be bandied about at every opportunity as criticism by someone over unfairness in preferences and affirmative action. That is called concerned about 'fairness'. YES I WAS CALLED RACIST, I WAS POINTING OUT A DOUBLE STANDARD. WHAT I WROTE WAS FAR LESS INFLAMMATORY THAN HILL BUT INTSTEAD, PROGRESSIVES "SLANDERED" ME.

Blatantly using an individuals name on a public forum followed by "racism" is not only a hateful thing to do but speaks to the persons intelligent and ethics.
REFERS TO OTHER COMMENTS.

But....when you can not intelligently debate with facts.....what can you expect from a progressive! THIS TIES VREELAND HILL AND THE OTHER RESPONDENTS.

I await your apology!

First and foremost, Henniker Mom, the title was RE: which means I was responding to a post of that name....not Mr. Vreeland Hill...so read that post first!

"It is amazing that the person who champions Vreeland Hill's right to speak seems to not champion anyone elses." THIS REFERS TO VREELAND HILLS AND THE NEXT REFERS TO CRITICISM ABOUT MY POST.

The "racist" term should not be bandied about at every opportunity as criticism by someone over unfairness in preferences and affirmative action. That is called concerned about 'fairness'. YES I WAS CALLED RACIST, I WAS POINTING OUT A DOUBLE STANDARD. WHAT I WROTE WAS FAR LESS INFLAMMATORY THAN HILL BUT INTSTEAD, PROGRESSIVES "SLANDERED" ME.

Blatantly using an individuals name on a public forum followed by "racism" is not only a hateful thing to do but speaks to the persons intelligent and ethics.
REFERS TO OTHER COMMENTS.

But....when you can not intelligently debate with facts.....what can you expect from a progressive! THIS TIES VREELAND HILL AND THE OTHER RESPONDENTS.

I await your apology!

Henniker Mom,

You should read the posts before responding. I did not use the word "racist" against Mr. Hill, it was used against me.....does that still qualify as 'slander in your world'.

Take a deep breath and read the posts, then lecture me about slander!

Why should I.
Hill is right and his comments are right.
If you cannot take the heat, then get out of the kitchen.
One poster who uses the name millennia used the word racist in his comment when writing about Hill.
Why and where did that come from?
Slander sucks.
If Hill supports Obama, and someone else supports Hill, where in the world does race come in?
Respond millennia.

It is amazing that the person who champions Vreeland Hill's right to speak seems to not champion anyone elses.

The "racist" term should not be bandied about at every opportunity as criticism by someone over unfairness in preferences and affirmative action. That is called concerned about 'fairness'.

Blatantly using an individuals name on a public forum followed by "racism" is not only a hateful thing to do but speaks to the persons intelligent and ethics.

But....when you can not intelligently debate with facts.....what can you expect from a progressive!

To the anonymous writer who said: "Bill, unless you have some sort of proof, don't be throwing around accusations about Michelle Obama's path to becoming the great American she is."

Here is a direct quote from Michelle Obama and the account of a classmate and close friend. This is the proof that you asked for and have now received.

“In a [February 2008] interview with Newsweek, [Michelle] Obama reveals that she got into Princeton … not on the strength of her grades, which she admits were unexceptional, but thanks to her brother Craig, a star athlete and gifted student who preceded her to the school. As a ‘legacy’ candidate and a beneficiary of affirmative action, Michelle Obama was granted an opportunity that others more accomplished were denied.”

"After graduating from Princeton, Miss Robinson went on to attend Harvard Law School, where she was accepted under the aegis of a minority outreach program. As one of her friends would later reflect, Robinson recognized that she had been privileged by affirmative action and was very comfortable with that."

All of that and I am a racist for criticizing her for her comments of not being proud of America until now. Who is the racist? She was given things on a silver platter and complains now.....she doth protest too much.........she is hardly a victim.

The victim is the person who was denied access to Princeton who was qualified and was passed over in the name of Affirmative Action!!!!! The system was not designed for reverse discrimination.

Come on progressives, how about it.....

What is the middle class? Who are they?

Who are working Americans?

Please define racism?

Unwillingness to do so renders your rhetoric worthless and not based on fact....

Me thinks Nevadarati is in love with Barry ... Obama. I nearly swooned in my flowing garments from reading her intensely amorous description of how the Democratic Party spent millions making such a beautifully symbolic scene scripted for TV high at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

Now before you go, could you explain to me why we need a multi-trillion dollar government, and you want more of it, if, as you say, it was "the symbiosis of a common cause advocating the embodiment of personal responsibility"?

- Just tryin' to figure out this new-age political religion thing from my precarious perch on the bully pulpit,
C. dog e. doG

Nice words by Obama but no detail and no solid idea of what he will do.

Progressives are not inclusive, read the letters in the Monitor. They show hatred, anger and none of the writers want to solve anything with consensus.

It is not "inclusion" to have it 'my way or the highway'.

Many of these writers have openly stated they are not interested in consensus and imply that they just want to have their way now that they feel they have not been represented over the last 8 years. That is ignorance.

Many times I have spoken about consensus, only to be told by a progressive..."Too bad if we win".

Those are Obama supporters. You are correct, it is a 'big tent' but the agenda is a 'pup tent'. There is not room in there for any middle ground. Obama offers an extreme Left view only!

It always comes down to "racist". That term is overused and abused.

I do not care if a leader is white, black, female, hispanic, etc. What I do not like is preferences based on race, gender, etc. It had it's place 30 years ago and it happens every day today. It happens in the workplace and it happens in colleges. It is not racist to report that "fact". My point was that Michelle Obama, a student on the South side of Chicago had an opportunity handed to her. That is OK and I understand it, but then to come back and say that she has never been proud of her country until now, dismisses the opportunity that was afforded her to attend an Ivy League college. That is not racist, she said it, it is a fact.

And to the other "anonymous" who gutlessly called me a 'racist' by once again not identifying themselves....It SCARES ME TO DEATH to have a candidate that will be the president who is the most liberal and at the same time the most inexperienced candidate in the White House.

Bottom line I won't vote for Obama because he is the antithesis of the principles on which this country was founded and has been built. Obama is a collectivist and strongly supports an 'entitlement' society. He could be any race or gender and I would NEVER vote for him.

Don't put words in my mouth and start to throw around the "race" issue. I have friends and colleagues of all nationalities and races; I am hardly a racist.

To ignore anyone is like saying that we know longer have freedom of speach. George Vreeland Hill may ruffel some feathers from time to time, BUT he has the right to say what he beleave's. And also he is as we say in New Hampshire hitting the nail on the head for what he write's.

Welcome to the tent, the really, really big tent....In accepting the Democratic nomination to pursue the presidency of the United States of America, Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic party have literally, figuratively and symbolically opened the door to a new era of inclusion, with the operative metaphors here being "access" and "participation." No politics of divisiveness here, where all no, low, middle and high class human beings were welcome, regardless of race, color, creed, socioeconomic status, age, gender, disability, religious orientation, sexual orientation or political affiliation. This is what unity looks like in the flesh....

In being held at Invesco Field (a.k.a. Mile High Stadium), the "open" concept of the event perfectly framed the message of inclusion and highlighted the power of positive synergy and the symbiosis of a common cause advocating the embodiment of personal responsibility, dignity and respect, recognizing that true "change" does emanate from within, and thus, illustrating that empowering "hearts and minds" is in reality an action and not merely political sloganeering. No glass ceilings here, in fact, no ceilings at all, and as symbolically illustrated "the sky is the limit", figuratively accented by the wave-like architecture representing fluidity and flow.

As an homage to "E Pluribus Unum" and its relativity to the fact that "we also rise or fall as one nation", a singular American flag (symbolically representing "one" America) graced the podium, a fitting symbolism in the recognition that, in Sen. Obama's own words "....patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag." In this clarifyingly defining moment, Sen. Obama finitely and unequivocally defined what any intellectually honest American already knows beyond the shadow of a doubt, that "We all put our country first."

Sen. Barack Obama, within his justifiable right to defend oneself and as the watershed moment of the evening, with undeniable gravitas, delivered the forceful and earnestly stated "Enough....." to the ad hominem attacks and divisive politics of the past, providing the literal, figurative and symbolic punctual and punctuative period to the toleration of the politics of division, thereby providing the "progressive" next sentence of the next chapter in his and our quest for inclusion, access, empowerment, unity and "peace in our time." Welcome to the big tent....Peace....

"I think if you're just talking about income, how about $5 million?" --after being asked by Rev. Rick Warren to define "rich," Lake Forest, California, Aug. 16, 2008

By his definition, the Obama's are clearly middle-class.

"At least the Obamas know where they live and how many houses they own. "

Why yes, they do. A million dollar home. Financed by Tony Rezko, a now convicted felon on fraud and bribery charges.

Bill, unless you have some sort of proof, don't be throwing around accusations about Michelle Obama's path to becoming the great American she is.

And you know what? She would make a much better vice president that that airhead soccer mom McCain just tapped to be his running mate.

I am SCARED TO DEATH of the possibility of that woman being only a heartbeat away from the Presidency if something were to happen to McCain.

She is not qualified whatsoever. McCain made an incredibly irresponsible choice.

Statements like "At least Michelle Obama had the opportunity to attend a great college and I am sure that due to preferences, some white candidate was beat out for that slot" tell us all we need to know about your discomfort over a black candidate for president.

At least the Obamas know where they live and how many houses they own. McCain owns seven evidently, so could he be 'middle class'? No.

Unfortunately in this country, the middle class cannot be elected to the highest office.

Until money cannot be spent to wage campaigns, only the wealthy will be able to afford to run.

Still, if you look at the two candidates, the only logical choice for the direction of our country is Barack Obama.

Progressives and Democrats have failed time and time again to define "middle class".

That is a buzz word for political gain, driving a wedge between voters who do not know better, hence, creating class envy.

At least Michelle Obama had the opportunity to attend a great college and I am sure that due to preferences, some white candidate was beat out for that slot. She worked the system and it worked for her. No issue with that but in light of her complaints and lack of love of this country, until now, she protests too much!

Michelle Obama complains about this country but is a product of the policies of liberals of the past.

Barack Obama was afforded the opportunity to go to college and live the American dream. They are both out of touch with reality when it comes to anything about the "middle class". They are the 'nouveau rich' and the 'nouveau preferenced and priviledged'.

Will someone define the middle class please? And tell us how you calculated it.

Also, once again will someone please define 'working Americans'? Several requests have fallen on deaf ears!!!!!!!

Just ignore Vreeland Hill. His rants and raves and nasty remarks are killing the liberal branch of the Democratic Party.

The Republicans have put you in the low class, and they laugh about it.
READ THIS:

The Republican Party is a sick joke, and the people of this country are fed up with them.
From Nixon to Bush, and from Scooter to Larry "Toilet Stall" Craig, the Republicans have proven themselves to be a bunch of lying, corrupt, evil, perverted, over-spending crooks.
When you look at all the money Bill Clinton left this country, it makes us all cry to know that Bush spent it all.
When the money was gone, Bush went to China for help.
Just think, we owe money to China!
That is the Bush way.
Cheney is no better.
You can't trust either of them.
No one does.
Why are we in Iraq?
The war should be on terror, not in Iraq.
Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, and yet Bush has spent all that money to fight "his" war.
Yes his, because many Republicans have backed off from the war.
By the way, the war in Iraq has cost the U.S. almost six hundred billion dollars.
Bush is friends with Rudy Giuliani, but Rudy is no hero.
While he is often called the hero of 9/11, the truth is that Rudy was a terrible leader during his years as mayor of New York City.
He made bad decisions and took a girlfriend while being married.
In fact, he even wanted his lover to live in the same house with his wife.
Most people would call this perverted.
New Yorkers were so sick of his antics, that they wanted him out of office.
Then came 9/11.
The only reason people call Giuliani a hero today, is because he just happened to be NYC's mayor during that bad time.
Any mayor would be looked at as a hero if they showed their face under those circumstances.
If there was no 9/11, Rudy would have become a joke.
This is not the kind of leader we want in the White House.
In closing, the New York Post reported in their paper on April 23, that Giuliani spent more than 48,000 dollars of campaign money on posh hotels while claiming to have spent the least of all the Republican candidates.
Rudy is a good time leader, and does it with other people's money.
Forget Mitt Romney.
He would not make a good VP.
Mitt can't seem to get his facts right, and will say things to make himself look good.
Red flags go up around him.
I spoke with his son Tagg at the New Hampshire debates back in June (2007), and while he seemed like a nice man, Tagg could not get his facts right either.
The worst Republican as of late, though, is Larry Craig.
He is a lying pervert who wanted gay sex with a strange man on a dirty toilet seat.
He pled guilty, then said he was not guilty.
Say what?
He is another Republican moron.
Did you hear about Washington State Republican Rep. Richard Curtis?
He offered $1,000 to a young man for unprotected sex while dressed in women's lingerie.
This sort of thing just goes on and on with them.
Remember Mark Foley?
Here is a letter I wrote that was in many newspapers and Web sites:

Once again, the Republicans have turned my stomach with shocking and repulsive behavior.
Mark Foley, a Republican member (now ex-member) of Congress, has sent many e-mails with perverted sexual content to a sixteen year old boy.
This is the same man who while in Congress, backed a bill that was meant to protect children from child predators.
Foley himself, is a man who preyed on a child with lust.
What is also incomprehensible, is the fact that some Republicans knew of Foley’s behavior, and yet, did not take a hard stand against this until it became public news. If I had a teenage son and/or daughter, I would not want them to go near any Republican leader for fear of either or both becoming a victim of a sick Republican pervert.

George Vreeland Hill

There were more than three hundred such letters in newspapers in 2007 alone.
Many of them in New Hampshire.
There are thousands on the Internet.
No lie.
THOUSANDS!
This does not even include articles, ads, radio, TV and other areas where the public takes notice.
In fact, one Republican in California wanted me stopped once, because I was hurting some Republicans in their elections.
I just want to do my part in helping to get rid of every Republican scumbag.
From phone scams to the Union Leader (NH) covering up for Republicans, the garbage never ends.
But the Republican Party will end.
Did you know that George W. Bush once made fun of the issue of Weapons of Mass Destruction?
He did, and in front of some shocked people during a black-tie event in 2004.
He said.... (While looking under a piece of furniture) "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere."
Then, while pretending to look out of a window, Bush laughed as he said..... "Nope, no weapons over there."
While he was laughing, there were men and women fighting and dying in Iraq because of WMD.
George W. Bush should be removed from office because of that alone.
Face it, Bill Clinton lied about having sex, and was impeached because of it.
George W. Bush however, did far worse, as he laughed at the very people who are fighting for the United States of America!
That about sums it all up!
(By the way, this Bush/WMD was part of an article and letter I wrote as well.)
This leads us to John McCain.
All he seems to do is attack other candidates.
His Woodstock ad against Hillary Clinton was boring and without the facts.
He tells of Hillary wanting to spend a million dollars on a museum while he (McCain) supports spending more on the war in Iraq.
He wants you to believe that the Democrats are the big spenders, while it is McCain's Republican Party that has spent all the money Bill Clinton left us to a point where Bush had to borrow money from China.
Think about that again.
We owe to China.
That is the Republican way.
Also, it must be noted that McCain even laughed at war.
Remember when McCain changed the words of a Beach Boys song to Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran?
McCain even laughed when he was done.
He thought starting a war with Iran was a laughing matter.
That is the real John McCain.
He just can't be trusted.
He is another George Bush, and you know what we got with him.
The Republican Party is a mess, and getting worse.
People do not trust any of them, and we are all tired of their act.
I am doing my best to make sure that no Republican wins an election.
Thank you for your time.

George Vreeland Hill