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Good to see you posting, Martha. Be well!

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Humphreysmar, you definitely need a better dictionary.

The Merriam-Webster's Unabridged is quite adequate, despite the fact that it is American. (I prefer the three-volume version---easier to handle) Older versions, which are adequate for almost all needs (especially the Third International), can be had in used book stores and book sales for ridiculously low prices.

Of course, the gold standard of English dictionaries is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in umpteen volumes---but it is a serious investment both in money and shelf space!

If you are an etymology fiend (as I am), then the American Heritage Dictionary (with its addendum of Indo-European roots) is very useful.

Apart from specialised etymological dictionaries, the best I've found is Klein's Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Again, there is a two-volume version which is much easier to handle.

Klein was an interesting chap. He was a Jewish survivor of Nazi concentration camps (thank goodness his scholarship was not lost!), and his dictionary has entries of English words with Hebrew and Semitic roots which are not included in most English etymological dictionaries.

By the way, not enough attention is paid to the ease of handling of books. I detest single-volume dictionaries, and who in their right mind would ever buy a single-volume edition of Shakespeare's plays!

College English majors. Of course, we could debate the sanity of anyone who majors in English, but we won't. I will admit the last time I read my collected works of Shakespeare was for a senior English class. Now I go out of my way to find single copies of the plays.

Yeah! Martha's back!

Forgive me, I didn't major in English. However, Shakespeare is still my favorite author.

Numan, knock it off with the complaints against spelling. Martha is our special book reviewer and her comments are intelligent and welcomed.

I'm trying very hard to understand Sarah Palin. I read her first "Rogue" book and found it rather interesting but lacking in how to do anything interesting in politics. I'm a tad jaded as I have read the best books by some of the best minds in politics and there is something lacking with Palin.

I recognize the appeal of her appearance and her attitude that it is now time for a new personality to be heard. Okay so those other books were written by established leaders desiring to put a new approach to party politics when explaining a new plan or to explain a failed or successful try.

The book is written by a very close associate who has been with Sarah since her work as mayor of Wasilla. He knows her idiosyncrasies and learned how not to stir the pot to avoid emotional reactions. Sarah Palin can stop conversations when she enters the room. She has the style of a professional Broadway actress. She has developed her style to appeal to all kinds of men. Women immediately snap to her attention with not so much jealousy but with respect. Women wonder how Sarah does what she does so well and with such ease.

We all have known and worked for men and women who seem to have all their ducks in the right place. The corker on this woman is to try and make sense of what she is talking about. The author Frank Bailey tries to follow her questions and answers and is convinced she is not stupid. When I read her words and listen to her speeches it is impossible to understand the key words of the question and where can we find the key words in her answers? Following the dialog at the tea party of the Mad Hatter and Alice does not clear up anything.

I am at the point in the book where the 2008 election is being formed around Senator McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. I have been disappointed in Senator McCain for years as he also tends to lose the key words when he speaks. I was worried that should he win this election, what would he do in the Middle East and how would he handle the growing deficits? I can see why he chose Sarah Palin as she is like an electric light suddenly making the room visible.

What Sarah Palin needs is a Movie Director who has a script in front of him including the end game of the film. She is a Christian and that often stuns the people around her. As a group they often are faced with their own statements being corrected by the media and she goes off like a rocket to hunt down this enemy of mankind and make him/her pay for pulling the green curtain away. Suddenly she remembers her Christian faith but often too late. She like many Christians use her faith as a tool to clean up a mess left by a temper tantrum.

I look forward to see how the McCain group tries to work with this gal. There is a lot to work with. Sarah is putting all her brains, looks, appeal and background into a kitchen blender she will turn it on when she declares her candidacy and I wonder what will come out.

So far the book is a good read. I love the concept of a woman being able to grab the opportunity to run for office and take it from there. I can’t help but wish she had been my daughter where her background would be complete by learning to research all that is written about her chosen line of work. My girls do not look like Sarah Palin but they can research lots of stuff on any subject worth the effort.

After I retired for the night to watch a couple of movies, it dawned on me that having a candidate like Sarah Palin might just be what the voters want. There is absolutely nothing to keep her on the road to the White House. We bought Bush's lies as we sat through 9/11 and the aftermath of excuses. We even bought the knowledge that Bush talked to God about what he should do next. Did Bush ever read through the Constitution to see what legally should be done next? It was more important that he protect his own ass regarding his every move to build a terrorism threat.

So many Americans still consider President Bush 43 a hero with insight so deep that he must never be questioned. This is exactly what I read into Sarah Palin's book. She too talks to God and pays little attention to her closest staff members.

Her two-faced personality will make her a strong opponent when faced with the spineless elephants running with her. She will cut apart anyone who dares get between her and a camera. We put up with this crap in Hollywood every day but no matter the trouble these divas cause, we can count on a good acting job on the screen.

Sarah does not have her ducks in a row. I will pick the book up after the holiday but I'm realizing it is simply one horrible action after another. I don't care about her personal life but I do care how she represents what ever government she wants to lead. I do not want another President Bush in my White House as God will direct them to destroy Islam. God will demand that we must destroy all enemies of the church. That will include me and I would rather it did not.

I hate to bring this up in this forum, since I have no intention of reading a book about that woman.
But...
Is she really a serious contender anymore?

Greger, if she is the only candidate who represents the religious right, she will win the Primary and a good chance at the final. The American voters are getting desperate. This end of days is serious and many absolutely believe our days are numbered. Since 2000 the American people are very anxious about meeting their maker. They believe that God will strike us down since we refuse to legislate God into our government. These people are not new immigrants but the older seniors like me.

The occult has a firm hold on America, This has always been the case and the main reason for our founding fathers to talk about the First Amendment. The separation of church and state should have been added word for word but few honestly felt that individual rights brought the new people in and would keep us safe from the Inquisition groups who are always waiting behind a green curtain. America has used terrorism as a hold over all citizens for many years. We are led to believe that Christians have no problem with torture to be used to locate the "True" believers.

Okay, I just got through the race for Governor of Alaska. It is now clear that Gov. Palin is an emotional wreck. To win this position she believed that treating her faithful associates had little if anything to do with her win. There is no instinct to feel even a little gratitude for the help that she received in order to win the seat.

The writer of this book, Frank Bailey has every right to complain as he had signed up with a woman who had absolutely no class or manners to treat so many of her helpers so badly. Sarah was a whiner, complainer and blamed everything on anyone in her presence.

So far Sarah has shown no hint of ethics when dealing with people on her own side of the campaign. Her end game was to be Governor. She was following the suggestions of her Pastor and the voice in her head. The problem is that she never stated a single change in government either in her city of Wasilla or her state of Alaska. She was in charge and it was obvious that her future plans had just begun. She probably broke no ethics violations because it is next to impossible to get anyone on these violations. The next part of the book takes on the McCain/Palin campaign and it will show how weak and unethical the GOP has become when dealing with a candidate like Sarah Palin.

I can see no reason to stay with the book as it will continue to be an expose' of how dirty politics has become since the end of WW2. The poor woman has no concept of how dangerous she is to America. This morning on Morning Joe, the subject of nuclear power in the hands of some of the candidates and how utterly dangerous it would be under a President Palin.

I will send the book to anyone who wants to read it. It gives me a sick feeling in my gut to think she even has a tiny chance. I will go back the Coach of the N.Y. Jets...Rex Ryan and get back to NFL Football which is kinder and gentler than Palin in Politics.