Barack Obama supporters, as they cheer for their winning bid

President Barack Obama handily defeated Gov. Mitt Romney and won himself a second term Tuesday after a bitter and historically expensive race that was primarily fought in just a handful of battleground states. Networks project that Obama beat Romney after nabbing the crucial state of Ohio.

The Romney campaign‘s last-ditch attempt to put blue-leaning Midwestern swing states in play failed as Obama’s Midwestern firewall sent the president back to the White House for four more years. Obama picked up the swing states of New Hampshire, Michigan, New Mexico, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Ohio. Florida and Virginia are still too close to call, but even if he won them, they would not give Romney enough Electoral College votes to put him over the top. The popular vote will most likely be much narrower than the president’s Electoral College victory.

The Obama victory marks an end to a years-long campaign that saw historic advertisement spending levels, countless rallies and speeches, and three much-watched debates.

The Romney campaign cast the election as a referendum on Obama’s economic policies, frequently comparing him to former President Jimmy Carter and asking voters the Reagan-esque question of whether they are better off than they were four years ago. But the Obama campaign pushed back on the referendum framing, blanketing key states such as Ohio early on with ads painting him as a multimillionaire more concerned with profits than people. The Obama campaign also aggressively attacked Romney on reproductive rights issues, tying Romney to a handful of Republican candidates who made controversial comments about rape and abortion.

These ads were one reason Romney faced a steep likeability problem for most of the race, until his expert performance at the first presidential debate in Denver in October. After that debate, and a near universal panning of Obama’s performance, Romney caught up with Obama in national polls, and almost closed his favoribility gap with the president. In polls, voters consistently gave him an edge over Obama on who would handle the economy better and create more jobs, even as they rated Obama higher on caring about the middle class.

But the president’s Midwestern firewall–and the campaign’s impressive grassroots operation–carried him through. Ohio tends to vote a bit more Republican than the nation as a whole, but Obama was able to stave off that trend and hold an edge there over Romney, perhaps due to the president’s support of the auto bailout three years ago. Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan all but moved to Ohio in the last weeks of the campaign, trying and ultimately failing to erase Obama’s lead there.

A shrinking electoral battleground this year meant that only 14 states were really seen as in play, and both candidates spent most of their time and money there. Though national polls showed the two candidates in a dead heat, Obama consistently held a lead in the states that mattered. That, and his campaign’s much-touted get out the vote efforts and overall ground game, may be what pushed Obama over the finish line.

Now, Obama heads back to office facing what will most likely be bitterly partisan negotiations over whether the Bush tax cuts should expire. The House will still be majority Republican, with Democrats maintaining their majority in the Senate.

The loss may provoke some soul searching in the Republican Party. This election was seen as a prime opportunity to unseat Obama, as polls showed Americans were unhappy with a sluggish economy, sky-high unemployment, and a health care reform bill that remained widely unpopular. Romney took hardline positions on immigration, federal spending, and taxes during the long Republican primary when he faced multiple challenges from the right. He later shifted to the center in tone on many of those issues, but it’s possible the primary painted him into a too-conservative corner to appeal to moderates during the general election. The candidate also at times seemed unable to effectively counter Democratic attacks on his business experience and personal wealth.

REPOSTED from Liz Goodwin article at http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/barack-obama-wins-election-second-term-president-041852102–election.html

Related articles

• Barack Obama wins election for second term as president (eagleradio97.wordpress.com)
• Barack Obama wins election for second term as president (datadiary2012.wordpress.com)
• BREAKING NEWS: Obama wins re-election (640whlo.com)
• Obama wins re-election (mega949.com)
• Obama wins re-election (schnittshow.com)
• Obama, Romney focus on swing states in late campaigning (news.yahoo.com)
• 5 swing states that could decide the Obama-Romney race (cbc.ca)
• Obama, Romney target swing states in final hours for campaigning – Xinhua (news.xinhuanet.com)
• Danny Sheridan boosts odds for Barack Obama ahead of today’s vote (al.com)
• US heads to the polls in dramatic last day (morningstaronline.co.uk)

History

Historically speaking

“The word ordeal is Anglo-Saxon, meaning “judgment”. That is exactly what an
ordeal was assumed to be – God‘s judgment.

In the Middle Ages, ordeals were sanctioned and applied by both Church and State
all over Europe, including Britain.

Ecclesiastical authorities devised special liturgical formulae to accompany the
procedure, and Law Courts approved of several forms of trial. All shared the
principle that God would save the righteous and punish the evil-doer. If the accused
succumbed to the ordeal, his guilt was proved. If he passed through it unscathed,
God had declared him innocent. The individual choice of the ordeal depended on the
standing of the accused.

In the trial by battle, the suspect was forced to fight the person who had charged
him. It was believed that victory would go to the party who was in the right. The
ordeal was not an appeal to force but to God, who would let the righteous win.

In the trial by hot water, the accused had to plunge his hand and arm – up to the
elbow – into boiling water. The hand and arm were then bandaged. If after three
days they showed any injury, this was taken as a divine indication that the man was
guilty.

In the trial by fire, the suspect was forced to hold in his hand a red-hot iron or,
blind-folded and with bare feet, to walk among nine red-hot ploughshares, placed
haphazardly on the ground. If he passed through the ordeal unharmed, he was
innocent. This type of trial was reserved for a person of high rank who could
appoint a deputy on his behalf.

In the trial by morsel, the accused person had to swallow – in one piece – either bread
or cheese weighing 1 ounce. His innocence was considered proven if he could do so
without effort. But should the “morsel” get stuck in his throat, God had pronounced
him guilty.

In the trial by water, the suspect was thrown, with his hands and feet bound, into
the river. If he sank it was an intimation by God that he was free of guilt. But if he
floated, the opposite was the case.

At first sight and to the reasoning of our mind, such a decision seems rather
paradoxical, and we should have expected it to have been the other way round. But
the apparent contradiction resolves itself, if it is realized that water was considered
the symbol of purity. It rejected the guilty – who therefore floated – but it did not
object to receiving the innocent, who hence drowned!”

“It is now generally agreed that the jury system reached England by way of the
Norman-French kings. Anxious to establish their power, they used to summon a
body of neighbours – the original jury. These were compelled to “take an oath”,
which is the literal meaning of “jury”, stemming from the French, that they would
tell the truth and never mislead their royal master.

Through their appointment, the king was able to obtain all essential information for
the administration of the district in which they resided.

When William I came to England he, too, was concerned, first of all, to establish the
supremacy of the crown and therefore made equal use of a system of jurors.
Summoned by the king’s representative, the royal judge, they had to supply him
with the correct facts concerning their county. They were obliged to do so by oath.

Later, a jury – to be known as a “Grand Jury” – assumed another significant role,
although still completely divorced from its modern tasks. In 1166 a statute issued by
Henry II ordained that 12 lawful men from each 100 should be sworn to accuse
criminals, so that they might be presented for the ordeal. In 1215, as a direct result
of the elimination of the ordeal, the jury itself was called upon to try the accused.”

The black cap that used to be worn by a judge when passing sentence of death was
not a cap at all. It is a three-cornered piece of black silk worn as a sign of mourning.

The ancient Egyptians applied the concept that “Justice is blind” literally. Their
Courts of Law met in a darkened chamber. This made it impossible for a judge to
see and recognize the accuser, defendant and witnesses.

(Rudolph Brasch, How Did It Begin, Ch. 14 Sources of Justice, Angus and
Robertson, 1985)

Unnatural Laws

Murphy’s Law
If anything can go wrong, it will.

O’Tooles Commentary on Murphy’s Law
Murphy was an optimist.

Nonreciprocal Laws of Expectations
As soon as you mention something …
… if it’s good, it goes away.
… if it’s bad, it happens.

Howe’s Law
Every man has a scheme that does not work.

Zymurgy’s First Law of Evolving Systems Dynamics
Once you open a can of worms, the only way to recan them is to
use a larger can.

Etorre’s Observation
The other line moves faster.

Skinner’s Constant (Flannagan’s Finagling Factor)
The quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, or
subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you should
have gotten.

Law of Selective Gravity
An object will fall so as to do the most damage.

Jenning’s Corollary
The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly
proportional to the cost of the carpet.

Gordon’s First Law
If a research project is not worth doing at all,
it is not worth doing well.

Maier’s Law
If the facts do not conform to the theory, they must be disposed of.

Hoare’s Law of Large Problems
Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out.

Boren’s First Law
When in doubt, mumble.

The Golden Rule of Arts and Sciences
Whoever has the gold makes the rules.

Barth’s Distinction
There are two types of people: those who divide people into two types,
and those that don’t.

Segal’s Law
A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches
is never sure.

Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules
The first 90% of the task takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes
the other 90%.

Faber’s Fourth Law
Necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows.
(From Arthur Bloch‘s Murphy’s Law-and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong
quoted in The Book of Lists by Wallechinsky, Wallace and Wallace)

Harper’s Magazine Law
You never find an article until you replace it.

Klipstein’s Corollary
The most delicate component will be the one to drop.
(Arthur Bloch, Murphy’s Law and Other Reasons Why Things
Go Wrong, 1977)
(There is a page dedicated to Murphy’s laws)

The Peter Principle
In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level
of incompetence.
(Dr Lawrence J. Peter, The Peter Principle, 1969)

(The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humourous Quotations by
Fred Metcalf, Penuin Books, 1986)

Famous American Lawyers Who Never Went to Law School

• Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president.
• Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), a defence attorney in the Scopes trial of 1925. While he attended a law school for one year, he did not distinguish himself and preferred to study law on his own. He received the greater part of his education in a law office in Youngstown, O. (From The Book of Lists by Wallechinsky, Wallace and Wallace)

Source: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~danok/LegalTrivia.html

Related articles

• The Alternative to Murphy’s Law (betterlifecoachingblog.com)
• When It Comes to Beauty, What’s Your Murphy’s Law Moment? (bellasugar.com)
• Embrace Negative Thinking: Murphy’s Law as a Planning Tool (fullcontact.com)
• Wake Me When It’s Over (thegirlinyogapants.com)
• Axiom I of experimental research: Murphy’s Law (mind2mess.wordpress.com)
• MURPHY’S LAW: First Kiss On Wedding Day, Billy Dee vs Apollo Creed, Penn State Shame (whotv.com)
• You’ve Been Promoted to Management…Now What? (ellisonpartnersblog.wordpress.com)
• Murphy’s Law (gearslutz.com)
• MURPHY’S LAW: Election Prediction, Aaron Rodgers’ Complex, Aging Karate Kid (whotv.com)
• Texting and Driving Kills — Dr. Frank Ryan’s Death While Texting and Driving is a Warning says Craig Murphy, Esq. (prweb.com)

Samantha Smith

A 10-year-old girl wrote a letter to the leader of the Soviet Union asking him why he wanted to start a war. In response he invited her to visit.

In 1982, Yuri Andropov replaced Leonid Brezhnev as leader of the U.S.S.R. In response to the change, a 10-year-old girl name
d Samantha Smith decided to write one of the most powerful men in the world asking him why he wanted to start a war and begging him to reconsider. She then wrote,

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren’t please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,
Samantha Smith

Her letter was eventually published in a Soviet newspaper and gained so much attention Andropov wrote back. He explained that the Soviets did not want war any more than Americans, yet,

Dear Samantha,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.

You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out.

Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.

Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.

Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago, Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.

In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in alliance with the United States: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth—with those far away and those near by. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.

In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons—terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That’s precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never—never—will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.

It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: ‘Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?’ We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country– neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government–want either a big or ‘little’ war.

We want peace—there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children’s camp – Artek – on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

Y. Andropov

Smith made the trip and became one of the most famous children in the world. When she returned to America she was presented with roses and a red carpet in Maine. She became an international sensation and began touring the World and pursuing acting.

Unfortunately, On August 25, 1985, Smith and her father were returning home aboard Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 after filming a segment for Lime Street. While attempting to land at Lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport in Auburn, Maine, the Beechcraft 99 commuter plane struck some trees 4,007 feet (1,221 m) short of the runway and crashed, killing all six passengers and two crew on board.

Smith’s contributions have been honored with a number of tributes by Russians and by the people of her home state of Maine. A monument to her was built in Moscow; “Samantha Smith Alley” in the Artek Young Pioneer camp was named after her in 1986. The monument built to Smith was stolen by metal thieves in 2003 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 2008, Samantha Smith posthumously received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for helping to bring about better understanding between the peoples of the United States of America (USA) and the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics (USSR), and as a result, reduce the tension between the superpowers that were poised to engage in nuclear war.

(C) wikipedia

Related articles

• 7 Children Who Changed the World (mryoungscholar.wordpress.com)
• The Death of Leonid Brezhnev and the Long Battle for Russia’s Future (theatlantic.com)
• The Cuban Missile Crisis Pilot Whose Death May Have Saved Millions (history.com)
• Yiddish isn’t widely spoken in former Soviet Union (morningstaronline.co.uk)
• Today in History (goerie.com)
• Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Unintended Effects of Glasnost and Perestroika (kjmmyblog.wordpress.com)
• The End of Civilization?: 7 Moments in the History of the Doomsday Clock (history.com)
• The assassination of President John F Kennedy: the finger points to the KGB (telegraph.co.uk)
• Cuban missile crisis 50 years on: from the archive (guardian.co.uk)
• Soviet−era officer wins award for preventing n−war (vancouverdesi.com)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Feature

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 50,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 12 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Related articles

• 2012 in review (edlunnon.wordpress.com)
• 2012 in Review – Thanks to All My Blog Followers! (laurabarbosa.wordpress.com)
• My blog stats: 2012 in review (staceyarcher.wordpress.com)
• See The Most Gorgeous Cannes Film Festival Beauty Looks Up Close (bellasugar.com)
• 2012 in review (girlsplaybaseball.wordpress.com)
• 2012 in review (davidjhinson.wordpress.com)
• 2012 in review (rpgtreehouse.wordpress.com)
• 2012 in review (explainingmaths.wordpress.com)
• 2012 in review (kaldirimlar.com)
• 2012 in review – LB Blasting it Up! (legalballerina.com)