A "sign" of the times.

You're SO lucky. They've been up around here for months.

Guy across the street from me has Obama on one side of his yard and McCain on the other ???????

I'm so sick of this election already, and they haven't even decided who's running yet.

Azzalea, I'm guessing that one or more of the voters in that house are Democrat, and one or more are Republican.

My husband has been active politcally since he was in high school. Worked a lot of campaigns, walked a lot of precincts, etc. His parents were registered in a party other than what my husband has always been registered in, so when he was still living at home when his parents were alive, there were signs in their yard for both parties.

Would it be illegal to put a small sign beside the other one, asking how much it cost, and who paid for it?

How about finding out, then asking the occupant of the house that question, then asking him/her whether s/he'll agree to placement of your sign?

Think of the scores of millions that it costs to run for the nomination, let alone when running as one's party's standard-bearer for the office itself/offices themselves!

Who pays the shot for all of that?

Few candidates pay it all on their own.

Not a high percentage comes from individual electors, I think.

Do you think that the folks who cough up the money aren't going to expect some compensation?

Can you think ...

... drugs? (i.e. the legit. guys)

... computer/software guys?

... banks?

... lumber? (we Canadians have a bone to pick, there!)

... aircraft manufacturers?

... transportation industry?

... military hardware researchers/makers? who hasn't signed the "ban the land mines" treaty?

... credit card issuers?

... radio/TV corporations? think of the concentration there ... is that healthy for a democracy?

... movies/music?

... oil ...may not be a four-letter word ... but how many leaders of the U.S. government are Big Oil people?

the list goes on.

I feel a lot more comfortable about the validity and continued viability of a democracy where there is major consultation with the electorate, rather than the huge corporations.

They talk a lot about the discipline of the marketplace keeping them in line. But in how many areas of business do half a dozen entities control 80% of the market? How free do you think that the market may be under such conditions?

Corporations love competition among suppliers - keeps prices of feedstock down.

Corporations love competition among consumers of their product - they can set the price.

They hate it among entities on their own level - will do whatever necessary to buy them out, squeeze them out, get the government to make regulations that help the big guys, whatever ... to get rid of them.

End of rant.

Hope you have a great old election season.

We may well have a federal one up here, before long.

Oh, Lord!

ole joyful

P.S. Seems to me that an economic system in which one person can become the richest person in the world in 1/2 of a generation ...

... needs some serious reform.

o j