I was maybe 15 when it came out.

Damn when did I get so old?

Something is terribly wrong in a country where the first stepping stone you take as an adult, a college education, is only the first in a list that will lead you down towards a lifetime of debt.

I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to work my way through undergrad . I had the sort of job that English majors dream about: editorial assistant. I was working at an ivy league university press before I even got my bachelor's degree. I also had a mother who was able to scrape together the remaining money for tuition each semester for the city college I attended. We paid on the deferred tuition payment plan, one-third down, and two-thirds later. There was barely enough, but we always managed to make it.

The college I went to was a branch of the City University of New York. It was a working-person's college. There were many immigrants and first-generation college attendees among my classmates. It was a very low-frills type of place. The campus consisted of three high-rise buildings around a subway stop. The escalators were broken half of the time. The library was always short of books. The cafeteria selections consisted of some tired Taco Bell burritos and warmed -over pizza. But the coursework I took was just as good as it was at the fancy university where I worked uptown. I was very proud (and somewhat relieved) when I finally graduated from that place.

Is it possible to do that these days, work a $10 - $12 / hr job part time job and have a parent pick up the rest of the tuition? I really don't think it is. College costs have skyrocketed over the past 10 years, just from the anecdotal evidence I've seen. I don't know why? Tax cuts? Expenses?

I just don't get how we expect to have an educated workforce in this country if we can't give the average person an accessible education. My family came here from eastern Europe with nothing. The only thing they had going for them was their drive to become educated, And they were able to take advantage of this through the city colleges (which, by the way, were very low-cost back in their day). This certainly isn't the case now. Other countries are able to do this, why can't the US? Is it because we're too selfish to have our (*gasp*) taxes raised?

I can't get it out of my brain that the repubs picked Palin because they want to throw the election -- and it might well backfire.

(And of course, moose-dressing is a skill that will come *such* in handy during Senate sessions or foreign policy negotiations.)

"McCain is here with all of his children!"

(Including the dark-skinned Indian one)

"John McCain was injured and tortured in Vietnam and had to have his arm set without anesthesia!"

(Well that sucks. He looks a lot better now though. Erm...what has he done since?)

to paraphrase my friend Jen, who sent this to me: Denver did not get like this.

And as I look at those Reagan snapshots, all I can remember are all of those "Meese is a Pig" posters wheat-pasted everywhere in the DC Metro Area in the late 80's. I wish I had pictures of *those.*

No...even better. It's the Jerry Springer Show meets real-life politicians (repubs, Jerry's a dem I believe)!

I do wonder if the selection of Palin was on purpose: as in, the republicans didn't want a damned thing to do with the post-GWB years, so they deliberately threw the election by picking the worst candidate possible.

Hah hah on them (and on the entire rest of the US as well) if their strategy backfires in their face and they actually win the election. Would make a great idea for a novel, no?

The 16th Street Mall ride was crowded. I don't think I'd ever seen it that crowded before.

I saw many police officers, some decked out in full riot gear. Bit creepy, but I suppose a necessity.

I took many, many pictures. I'll post them on my Facebook account. I even got a picture of the back of the Reverend Al Sharpton's head. How exciting, no?