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No 401 K here. I'm even more chicken. What money I have saved I've put in guaranteed CDs. It hasn't made much, but at least it's still there. Yeah, I'm feeling lucky.

He has lied to Americans and to the world so many times that if he actually made a mistake and told the TRUTH, nobody would be able to recognize it.

LOL at *pro-terrorist.* Is that the *talking point* word of the day that you studied at the table while drinking your daily dose of Kool-Aid? I'm not pro terrorist by any stretch of the imagination. I'm also not gullible. As far as bizarre, I think people who can't think for themselves, see the forest from the trees and continue to defend a known manipulative, deceitful liar until the end, regardless of facts to the contrary, are beyond bizarre.

And as far as J. C. Penney bills, check the date below. As I said, this is nothing new. I doubt you need to worry about your credit card bills, though. Bush only attacks those who disagree with him or catch him in lies. Ask Valerie Plame.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Walter Soehnge is a retired Texas schoolteacher who traveled north with his wife, Deana, saw summer change to fall in Rhode Island and decided this was a place to stay for a while.

So the Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has breakfast at the Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has passed the test and become a regular despite an accent that is definitely not local.

And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me that he was madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail.

He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.

What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that everything changed after 9/11 thing.

But not Walter.

We're a product of the '60s, he said. We believe government should be way away from us in that regard.

He was referring to the recent decision by him and his wife to be responsible, to do the kind of thing that just about anyone would say makes good, solid financial sense.

They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.

And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn't call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn't try to sneak a machine gun through customs.

They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.

After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn't changed.

So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.

When you mess with my money, I want to know why, he said.

They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.

They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted.

Walter called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and me. And he went on the Internet to see what he could learn. He learned about changes in something called the Bank Privacy Act.

The more I'm on, the scarier it gets, he said. It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy.

Eventually, his and his wife's money was freed up. The Soehnges were apparently found not to be promoting global terrorism under the guise of paying a credit-card bill. They never did learn how a large credit card payment can pose a security threat.

But the experience has been a reminder that a small piece of privacy has been surrendered. Walter Soehnge, who says he holds solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs, worries about rights being lost.

If it can happen to me, it can happen to others, he said.

(Bob Kerr is a columnist for The Providence Journal. E-mail bkerr@projo.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)

Do you think either candidate is more "real" than the other? Is one of them truly a "what you see is what you get" sort of person, or is one of them liable to turn tail and be the opposite of what we see now?

I had hoped to include Hillary in my list, but I guess that won't be necessary now. Bummer.

That is how I have been going over the last couple months. I just don't know any more and frankly I'm getting tired of it. I voted for Obama over Hillary, then was a strong supporter of Obama. Heard some stuff I didn't like so I switched to McCain, then heard some stuff and switched back to Obama, now with the economic crisis and what the democrats have done, I am looking towards McCain again. Let me explain why (please take pitty on me and don't flame me too bad :-), but with that said let me tell you why.

I feel that Obama can speak better than McCain. Gotta give him credit for being an eloquent speaker, however that doesn't mean that his ideas are right for America. I'm learning about his voting record and the programs he will be pushing for, and if I wanted to live in the type of economy Obama wants if he is elected I mind as well move to Cuba or another country that is socialized. Yes he understands our economy but he's making all the wrong decisions and we are going to be further in debt. I just found out today that 700B dollars is not a figure they need. They made that up out of thin air. They need close to a trillion dollars, but they were afraid if they ask for a trillion it will raise suspicion so they picked 700B out of thin air. And that money will be pocketed by them and then they'll need more. Kucinich said today where do you think we're going to get 700B from? We'll get it from banks. And we'll give it to banks. And then more faux money and debt and loans will go out and we will not be any better. And this is what Obama is going to approve. Obama does not care about people like you and me. He is for the 1% of the rich (him and his friends). I don't think he is qualified to make any decisions about our economy. And Pelosi and Franks should be fired on the spot! We should remember as a democratic congresswoman pointed out that we have enemies both foreign AND domestic. That means here in our country, and as far as I can see they are the democratics that are destroying our economy. NOT ALL DEMOCRATS. I wanted to make sure I made that clear. There are plenty good democrats who know this bill is wrong and are voting agaist it - good for them, but there are the other ones (along with some republicans) who are out for themself. We need a strong leader to lead us in the direction of bringing our economy back up and I believe that person is John McCain.

Second, I don't feel safe with what Obama is proposing to sit down with our enemies and have a nice big group hug and everything will be all better. That's not the way it works and McCain understands that. I feel safer with McCain in there on foreign policies and the ability to keep our country safer.

Biden - Don't know much about him except he's been in the senate a long time, which is good because Obama is fairly new so he would be big help. Personally I like Biden, so have no quams with him. I think he can put his foot in his mouth enough if you get him talking long enough. It also doesn't help that he was even saying Obama is not qualified to be president, but time will tell.

Palin. She's better than a lot of people are giving her credit for. I know your probably saying pleeese, but put your hatred towards her aside. She has a lot to learn, but so does Obama. He's had an 18-month lead on her, and with help she is learning fast. I heard the leader of Pakistan tonight and he said after meeting with her she was intelligent and he thinks if McCain and Palin are elected she will do just fine.

I like her resume and knowlege of the economy and plans for getting us back on the right track better than Obama's. BTW - I did watch one of her interviews and she did quite well. She was very intelligent and articulate in what she was saying (completed full sentances throughout the whole interview, finished her thought processes, etc), but then again she was being interviewed by someone who treated her with respect and didn't try to pull any of the "gotcha's", or look down at her cross-eyed like Couric did. Couric has the interview skills of a beanpole, so don't know why anyone even watched it.

I am looking forward to the debate on Thursday. I know a lot of you have already got it in your minds that she has already lost the debate and that is unfortunate. I am anxious to hear Biden talk. I do like him and had wished he had won the nomination over Obama.

My feeling on Palin is that given a chance and good mentors she will do just fine as VP and I always remember our founding fathers didn't have half the experience she does and they made this country great in the beginning. Now politics is just filled with lawyers, crooks and liars.

So...if Obama and Biden win I won't be crying, and if McCain and Palin win I will be fine too.

This is for all of you who constantly pick on Obama and hope for Obama's downfall.

McCain: Obama has 'done well' as president so far

Obama is the chicken, not McCain

McCain: Obama has 'done well' as president so far