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"Abraham Lincoln didn't quit.  Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown. He could have quit many times - but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country".

 The Budget Axe Begins to Fall   CABL WIRE
The bottom line: state officials are trying to figure out how to cut $341 million out of the current budget when they’re already half-way through the budget year. It’s a tall order at this stage of the game when time is of the essence. As expected, the two areas looking at the largest cuts are higher education and health care. The Department of Health & Hospitals was asked to prepare for cuts of $125-$178 million with higher education looking at about $109 million. Those two areas alone could account for as much as 75% of the cuts if that’s the way they finally come down.  So how do you do that?

DEMS PASS ARMENTOR RESOLUTION  Nathan Stubbs
At its meeting last week, the Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee passed what could be known as the Glenn Armentor resolution. The “statement of principle” reads that “ a member of the committee shall not publicly endorse nor publicly support by fundraising activities or by other public activities any officeholder, candidate, or potential candidate for public office who is not registered to vote with the Democratic Party.”

 Jones scheduled for trial in March  Michael DeVault
A former state senator who is accused of tax evasion will get his day in federal court in Monroe in the spring. U.S. District Court Judge Robbie James will preside over the government's case against former Sen. Charles D. Jones, a Monroe attorney, beginning March 19, 2009. A federal grand jury handed down a three-count indictment in January. The indictment said Jones filed false tax returns and evaded paying income taxes, dating to 1995. Federal prosecutors also contend that Jones intentionally understated his income in 1999 and 2000 to avoid paying federal income taxes. Prosecutors allege Jones used a complex series of banking transactions to mask more than $750,000 in income over an eight-year period stretching from 1995 to 2003.

LOUISIANA'S EDUCATION REPORT Measuring Up 2008
Louisiana's underperformance in educating its young population could limit the state's access to a competitive workforce and weaken the state's economy.  Eighth graders perform very poorly in math, science, reading, and writing, though they have improved in math and science over the decade.  Louisiana is among the poorest-performing states in high school completion. Seventy-eight percent of blacks have a high school credential, compared with 86% of whites.
SEE COMPLETE REPORT AT:  www.measuringup2008.highereducation.org/states/report_cards/index.php?state=LA

  Tracking organization says ‘alternative families’ up 48%  Bob Anderson and David J. Mitchell
The number of identified hate groups in the United States has risen nearly 48 percent since 2000, according to an organization that tracks such groups. The hate groups include neo-Nazis, skinheads, black supremacists and white supremacists. Small hate groups are scattered across Louisiana as in other states, said officials with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.

Council denies developer’s appeal  MARSHA SILLS
The future’s uncertain for a proposed 73-home subdivision in Scott after a three-hour discussion resulted in the City-Parish Council’s denial of the developer’s appeal to move forward with the development at Tuesday’s council meeting.  The council denied the appeal filed by developer, Steve Montgomery, whose preliminary plat for a 73-lot development on 14 acres had been denied by the planning commission in October.  The commission denied the request, even though planning staff recommended its approval.

 Fight For Your Right To Party   Nathan Stubbs
Glenn Armentor’s ‘No Party Party’ fund-raiser for Republican Joey Durel has him fending off calls for his resignation from the Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee.
Armentor says he has no intention of stepping down.  Along with Stagg, at least two other members of the 12-member executive committee — Stephen Handwerk and Alfred Boustany — have come out in opposition to the “No Party Party,” and as of press time, committee members were still finalizing plans for a special meeting this week to take up censuring Armentor. The committee’s chairman, John Bernhadt, says he has done nothing to call for any official action against the local attorney, but adds, “We don’t see the benefit in hosting a fund-raiser for Joey, and we will not be joining him in that.”  The only rule in the party’s bylaws that appears to directly address Armentor’s actions states an elected member of the party can be subject to censure for “publicly endorsing or publicly supporting any candidate that is not registered to vote with the Democratic Party in any election contest in which there is a candidate registered with the Democratic Party.”

La. Democrats feeling tension within party   MARSHA SHULER
Louisiana’s voter registration remains majority Democrat with 1.53 million of 2.9 million voters. Nearly half of Democratic registrants are black: 721,814 black voters to 774,074 white voters. The remainder are other race.

  Lafayette, Louisiana,--- Piecing It Together  Jeremy Alford
“They’re all crooks,” the elderly Martin Letulier of Lafayette says from the Mudd Street Fire Station polling place on election day. “But I always vote.”  Letulier remembers way back in the day — when campaign speeches were delivered from the back of produce trucks and sections of the daily newspaper were still printed in French, when it usually took a pocket full of dough to win an election in Lafayette Parish. It might sound similar to the way things shake out today, but there is one notable divergence in the way political expenditures were handled locally just 40 years ago. If you wanted to win, even place really, the man to talk to was “Coozan” Dudley LeBlanc — known as much then for his Hadacol concoction, which made him a millionaire, as his political conniving, which proved just as lucrative.  In his book From Huey Long to Hadacol, author Floyd Martin Clay pulled no punches: “It is now openly conceded by many politicians that one had to approach Dudley with cash in hand when a local election was at stake, and he is alleged to have worked out a regular scale of endorsement, ranging from $50 for an insignificant post to $500 for a midrange post, and open-end negotiations for state support.” Even Earl Long wasn’t exempt from paying Coozan’s fees. After one particularly heated election, Uncle Earl supposedly exclaimed, “Hell, you can’t buy LeBlanc; you can only rent him.”  It’s a reputation Louisiana may never shake.

Lafayette Parish School Board, Council to begin joint quarterly meetings --- By Nathan Stubbs  
The Lafayette Parish School Board and the City-Parish Council, along with City-Parish President Joey Durel and UL Lafayette President Joseph Savoie, have agreed to conduct joint quarterly meetings beginning next month. The first meeting is scheduled for Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. in the council auditorium at City Hall. It will represent the first time the school board and council have met together for any reason other than reapportionment following a census. The meetings aim to foster better planning and coordinating between the parish’s government entities. Council President Don Bertrand says he and School Board President Carl LaCombe have been discussing the idea of joint meetings since the beginning of the year. “Hopefully what we’re doing,” he says, “is knocking down all the silos so that we’re building relationships and communicating with one another about what the specific issues are and how we all relate to solving problems, whether it be infrastructure, transportation, schools, poverty, the whole nine yards.”

ULL program seeks high school seniors --- Advocate Acadiana bureau, Nov 12, 2008
Enrollment is open for high school seniors interested in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Dual Enrollment Program. Qualified seniors can enroll in up to two ULL courses for the 2009 spring semester. The deadline to enroll is Dec. 5; spots are available for the first 100 qualified students who apply. Course requirements must be met and space must be available in order for the student to enroll. Students must be on track to complete the Board of Regents TOPS Core, have at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA, and ACT scores of an 18 in English and math and a 21 composite score. For information, contact the University College at (337) 482-6729 or e-mail universitycollege@louisiana.edu.

KKK alive and well in Louisiana. ---  By Leslie Turk --- Thursday, November 13, 2008  
It's a time in our nation's -- and particularly our state's -- history we all want to think is part of an ugly past. But a recent killing in Bogalusa has stirred up those horrible memories. The KKK appears to be alive and well in St. Tammany Parish, where an Oklahoma woman was alleged shot when an initiation ceremony went wrong. The AP reported the story yesterday.  Hattie Dillon got a first-hand taste of the racial hatred that gripped this city in the 1960s when a metal bolt flung by someone in an angry crowd gashed her head as she marched for civil rights. On Wednesday, sitting on her front porch just off Main Street, the 61-year-old said Bogalusa is better now. But the bloody legacy of racial violence and brazen Ku Klux Klan activity in the area remains -- evidenced by the arrest of eight local people in the death of an Oklahoma woman shot when a weekend Klan initiation went awry. Read the rest of the story here.

 With disarray, Jindal's value rises  Ana Radelat 
Acadiana remains a Republican stronghold --- GOP candidates sweep area vote   Jeff Moor
Democrats Barack Obama and Mary Landrieu won election Tuesday, but Acadiana favored Republicans John McCain and John Kennedy. Sixty two percent of voters in the eight Acadiana parishes cast their ballots for McCain, compared to 36 percent for Obama. Acadiana voters slightly preferred Kennedy to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, and U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany posted a strong margin of victory over challenger Don Cravins Jr.

Real Clear Politics  ---  11-05-2008

  Election Night Speech (Video)

What Obama Means to This Nation - Anna Quindlen, Newsweek

From King to Obama, the Nation Heals - John Kass, Chicago Tribune

The Obama Revolution - John Harris and Jim VandeHei, Politico

Near-Flawless Run - Nagourney, Rutenberg & Zeleny, New York Times

Why America Went for Obama - Daniel Finkelstein, Times of London

Decisive Win Gives Dems New Clout - Susan Page, USA Today

Bipartisanship Could Help Victorious Democrats - Gerald Seib, WSJ

Conservatism Faces Challenges Ahead - Philip Klein, American Spectator

America the Liberal - John Judis, The New Republic

Obama's Post-Racial Promise - Shelby Steele, Los Angeles Times

Will a Black President Heal the Racial Divide? - T.D. Jakes, Time

Hail to the Chief - Michael Gerson, Washington Post

Transformational Presidency - Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation

Audacity Wins - Roger Simon, Politico

Republicans Got the Thumping They Deserve - Rod Dreher, NPR

Could Anything Have Prevented McCain's Defeat? - Byron York, NRO

How Obama Bent the Arc of History - John Dickerson, Slate

Election Results: President | Senate | House / Videos: Obama | McCain

RCP Blog: The Journey Begins | Editorials / Politics Nation: Strat Memo

Editorials

President Barack Obama - Washington Post

America Turns the Page - Boston Globe

Voters Rebuke Republicans for Economic Failure - Wall Street Journal

From Slavery to Obama - Chicago Sun-Times




 Presidential Election Today (11-04-2008) ... Please Vote
Sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected to help boost what could be a record turnout of voters in the state and across the country as voters go to the polls today to elect a new president and members of the U.S. Senate and House, and decide local races and propositions.



Why race won't prevent Obama's election  InsiderAdvantage and Southern Political Report staff
Almost two years after a Kenyan/Kansan named Barack Obama stood on the steps of the old capitol in Springfield, Ill., proclaiming his candidacy for the president of the United States of America, voters both black and white next month are finally buying into the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Barack Obama is positioned to become the first African-American elected to our country's highest office. In my judgment, Obama will be elected.  Despite there being nearly a quarter of the white population who still have difficulty voting for a black, a remarkable campaign and the sorry state of the mess left by George W. Bush has trumped race. Obama has run a race of non-race. He has become the non-threatening figure of stability on the national and international stage. You might say that Obama had all the right ingredients to make history: temperament, money, brains, looks, timing, message and, most of all, a country absolutely desiring CHANGE!
 
 Legal volunteers hope to ensure a fair election   Richard Wolf
For at least one day next week, Charles Lichtman will preside over the nation's largest law firm. Lichtman's assemblage of 5,000 volunteer lawyers, paralegals and law students will fan out across Florida with one goal in mind: to ensure a fair election for their top client, Barack Obama. The Democratic Party's effort in Florida is the largest mobilization in the country, but there are others. Democrats in Virginia say they have nearly as many legal volunteers — more on a per-capita basis. In Ohio, Pennsylvania and other key states, a record number of lawyers representing both presidential campaigns, both major political parties and voting-rights groups are ready. John McCain's campaign also will be monitoring the polls. Spokesman Ben Porritt says Republicans have a vast operation in battleground states to help voters and to "make sure that fraudulent activity isn't occurring."



 Ad war heats up Seventh District race; meet the candidates --- Campaign rhetoric intensifies as Boustany, Cravins spar for votes  Jeff Moore
A new television ad has injected some controversy into race for the Seventh U.S. Congressional District. The campaign is heating up during the home stretch, with both major party candidates taking shots at their opponents. State Sen. Don Cravins Jr. fought back Wednesday against a television ad by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany. In the ad, Boustany claims Cravins voted to increase insurance deductibles on residents following hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Police foil plot by white supremacists to kill Obama  The Independent, UK
A plot by far-right extremists to assassinate Barack Obama and kill and decapitate dozens of other black Americans at a school has been broken up, US officials claimed yesterday.
Somewhat farcically, the alleged plotters planned to dress in white tuxedos and top hats and drive their car at high speed towards the presidential candidate while shooting at him. They expected to die in the attempt, the authorities said.

 Struggle for soul of Republican party degenerates into civil war   Rupert Cornwell
The election hasn't even been lost yet. But as John McCain slides towards likely defeat, the sniping between Republican factions has degenerated into something close to outright civil war – one that presages a wrenching struggle for the future of the party. In the past few days, the feuding has reached to the very top of the campaign, with the McCain camp accusing Sarah Palin, his own vice-presidential running mate, of acting like a "rogue" candidate, going her own way and defying the instructions of her boss's top advisers. "She's a diva," one unidentified McCain aide told CNN. "She takes no advice from anyone ... she does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else." Mutual recrimination is the norm in a losing presidential campaign, as aides position themselves for the blame game after defeat. A week before the election, the McCain campaign seems headed in that direction, trailing Barack Obama by between 7 and 10 points in most national polls, and behind in the major swing states that will decide the outcome on 4 November. But the backbiting this time is of rare ferocity.

 The Case for the 7th Congressional District  Stephen Handwerk
We have one week left to go and for THOUSANDS of folks in the 7th Congressional District, they have already voted - soon this race will be in the history books. I would be remised if I didn't comment on how sad I am that The Daily Advertiser has not covered this race with any seriousness.  As the largest paper in this congressional district, we lean on The Daily Advertiser in hopes that they will truly function as the 4th Estate and bring us the news. Sadly, they have failed at this task.  

 No Party’ voters in La. increasing   MARSHA SHULER
With the Nov. 4 election approaching, there are nearly 140,000 fewer registered Democrats in Louisiana than at the beginning of the decade. Voters aligning with the Republican Party increased since 2000 but not nearly as much as those of other parties, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Over the same years, more black voters joined the Democratic Party — from 670,337 in 2000 to 721,814 as of Oct. 6, when the voter rolls closed for the Nov. 4 election. Meanwhile, 200,000 white voters left the Democratic Party during the same time period — from 977,066 to 774,074, according to the secretary of state’s records. Southern University political scientist Albert Samuels said Louisiana’s change in Democratic Party demographics reflects what happened in much of the rest of the South, where conservatives left what three decades ago was the only viable political party in the region. “It used to be that people were conservative and remained Democrats because the Republican Party was so small, but as the Republican Party grows, those conservative Democrats don’t need to keep the ‘D,’ ” Samuels said. “The fastest-growing group right now is ‘No Party.’ You would have thought it would be Republicans, but that hasn’t happened,” Samuels said.

SHREVEPORT TIMES ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA & JOHN FLEMING  Shreveport Times
Into the breach, our political system has yielded two presidential candidates of vastly different experiences. One is a seasoned lawmaker who unfortunately abandoned his trademark independence for political expediency. The other is a candidate who may have fewer years in the public eye but who offers the best chance for a fresh start for our nation both at home and overseas. The Times today recommends Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. Obama initially made his mark with the American public as an eloquent communicator and gifted politician. For almost two years his campaign has reflected grace and poise, whether inspiring thousands who flock to his rallies or addressing the blistering attacks launched from both inside and outside his party. He is reminiscent of past gifted leaders, whether FDR or Ronald Reagan, who were able to both project calm in uncertain times and to exhort Americans toward our potential to build a better future.

Forum speakers: City positioned for growth  Marsha Sills
Speakers at an economic forum Thursday said Lafayette is a prime location for the state’s new pet economic development project: digital media. Video game development is an emerging industry in the state and in Lafayette with the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise Center’s new partnership with a game developer from Austin, Texas.  Video gaming is “bigger than the movie business,” said Stephen Moret, the state’s secretary of Louisiana Economic Development during the economic forum sponsored by The Independent Weekly, MidSouth Bank and Dwight Andrus Insurance. The event also featured LSU economist Loren Scott, who was part of the team that prepared the recently released statewide economic forecast that revealed little job growth for the state: one-tenth of 1 percent growth forecast for 2009 and only 1.5 percent in 2010.  Despite the national recession, Scott said he feels the economy will recover by the first quarter of next year and dismissed talk of another Great Depression.  “It’s a relatively short and shallow recession,” he said.  Scott said national employment falling 2.8 percent are deceiving and don’t take into account September hurricanes that shut down refineries in Texas and Louisiana nor the Boeing strike. Lafayette’s outlook is better, with estimates of 2,800 new jobs next year and 3,200 jobs in 2010, Scott said.

 Polls Show Obama Gaining Among Bush Voters   JIM RUTENBERG and MARJORIE CONNELLY
Senator Barack Obama is showing surprising strength among portions of the political coalition that returned George W. Bush to the White House four years ago, a cross section of support that, if it continues through Election Day, would exceed that of Bill Clinton in 1992, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News polls. Underscoring his increasing strength in the final phase of the campaign, Mr. Obama led Mr. McCain among groups that voted for President Bush four years ago: those with incomes greater than $50,000 a year; married women; suburbanites and white Catholics. He is also competitive among white men, a group that has not voted for a Democrat over a Republican since 1972, when pollsters began surveying people after they voted.

 Obama Arrives in Hawaii to Visit Ailing Grandmother    JEFF ZELENY
On a whirlwind trip back to Hawaii, Senator Barack Obama spent more than an hour visiting his ailing grandmother late Thursday and is set to return to her bedside on Friday morning after arriving here on a nine-hour flight from the Midwestern battleground of the presidential campaign. As soon as he arrived on the island of Oahu, Mr. Obama went to the Punahou Circle Apartments, where his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, lies gravely ill. She is to turn 86 on Sunday, but aides to Mr. Obama said doctors advised him not to delay his visit.  It was an unusual departure from the tug-of-war of the presidential campaign, with 11 days remaining in the race. But it was a trip that advisers said he told them was not negotiable. He missed his mother’s death here in 1995, a mistake he said he did not intend to repeat with his grandmother, who has been a stalwart in his life.

 Ex-candidate Romney sees White House run for Jindal   MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted Thursday that Gov. Bobby Jindal will consider a 2012 run for the White House if John McCain loses on Nov. 4. “Bobby Jindal will certainly be taking a look at it,” Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said on WWL-Radio. Jindal denied Thursday afternoon that he is mounting a presidential campaign despite multiple fundraising trips outside the state and an upcoming visit to Iowa.

7th District scrap ---Cravins, Boustany on attack at debate  Richard Burgess
Candidates for the 7th Congressional District traded barbs Wednesday in a debate that found state Sen. Don Cravins Jr. repeatedly attacking incumbent Charles Boustany for his support of the $700 billion financial rescue package. “We gave 700 billion dollars to a bunch of greedy people on Wall Street, and it did nothing,” said Cravins, a conservative Opelousas Democrat challenging the two-term Republican congressman. Boustany, Cravins and a third candidate — Eunice businessman Peter Vidrine —met for an hour-long debate Wednesday at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In answering questions throughout the evening, Cravins often returned to the refrain that money for what he called a “fail-out” package could have been used for better purposes — education, rebuilding the coast, health care, shoring up Social Security. Vidrine called the $700 billion package “communism for the rich.” Boustany, who initially voted against what he dubbed a “rescue plan,” said he felt the massive program was needed to stave off a major financial crisis that would have certainly worked its way down to the middle-class.

 Candidates exchange ideas during debate --- Cravins, Boustany, Vidrine face off at UL campus forum  Jeff Moore
Two challengers for U.S. Congress District 7 attacked U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. for his record on the economy, coastal erosion and energy in a debate in Lafayette on Wednesday. Boustany defended himself as a leader on health care and coastal issues, saying his leadership had helped southwest Louisiana accomplish in three years what it took southeast Louisiana 20 years to accomplish.                                             
            

 Republican Party spent $150,000 on Palin's wardrobe   The Independent, UK
McCain's running mate – now hit by revelations of a lavish shopping spree – is starting to hurt his poll ratings. David Usborne reports. You hear it on the campaign trail everywhere, but now a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll appears to confirm it. No longer a net asset to the Republican ticket, Sarah Palin may in fact be weighing John McCain down. Those voters crucial to the final outcome – the undecideds and independents – don't quite like her, think her selection was cynical and political and cannot imagine her ever being president. And to make matters worse, details emerged yesterday of the Republican Party splurging $150,000 (£92,000) since Mrs Palin became Mr McCain's running-mate to revamp her wardrobe. Lipstick and Armani on a hockey mom sounds fine, but at that kind of cost? After "troopergate" in Alaska, another mini-scandal attached to Mrs Palin is not what is needed.


      YES WE CAN !           
"Oui, on peut -- Yes we can!" OBAMA ZYDECO FROM LOUISIANA 2008  (See Video)                                                                                                         
           Southwest Louisiana Promoting Barack Obama For President
   
                        " Gumbobama "  (Gumbo-Obama)




General Colin Powell
 (See Video)
Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama on NBC's "Meet the Press." Turned off by McCain focus on Ayers.  NBC NEWS-MEET THE PRESS
WASHINGTON--Barack Obama picked up a key endorsement Sunday from former Bush administration Secretary of State, retired Gen. Colin Powell, who made the announcement on NBC's "Meet the Press."  Powell, the son of immigrant parents from Jamaica who rose to the top ranks in military and government, told Tom Brokaw he will cast his vote for Obama but won't go out on the stump with him. Powell was critical of the John McCain campaign: its embrace of negative tactics, emphasis on Bill Ayers and sharp right turn. He praised Obama's "ability to inspire," pick for vice president-- Joe Biden-- and for running an "inclusive" campaign crossing racial, ethnic and generational lines. Powell said Obama was a "transformational" figure and was clearly troubled by McCain tapping Sarah Palin because he praised Biden as ready to lead from day one. Obama called Powell and thanked him for his endorsement and said how honored he was to have it, spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. Gibbs said Obama told Powell he looked forward to taking advantage of his advice in the next two weeks and hopefully over the next four years in their ten minute talk. Powell served under four presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and President Bush. This is one of Obama's most major endorsements--and his biggest Republican name. Powell's nod comes at a time where McCain and Sarah Palin have been portraying Obama as risky because of his associations, stressing his relationship with Bill Ayers, a former terrorist now a University of Illinois-Chicago education professor. Powell's endorsement undercuts those arguments and also shores up Obama in states with a large military population. Brokaw asked if race played a role in Powell's decision. Powell is one of the leading African American figures in the nation. "If I only had that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, ten months ago," Powell said. Taking questions from reporters outside of the NBC Washington Bureau after taping the show, I asked Powell said if he still considers himself a Republican. I asked Powell about the role McCain's negative campaign tone against Obama played in his decision. "It troubled me," he said. "We have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with out allies. "And so those are the problems the American people want to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers, not about who is a Muslim and who is not a Muslim. "Those kinds of images going out on Al Jazeera are killing us around the world."


 A 106-year-old American nun living in a convent in Rome could well be one of the oldest voters to cast a ballot in the 2008 US Presidential election. Sister Cecilia Gaudette, who last voted for President Eisenhower in 1952, has registered to vote and says she will vote for Democrat Barack Obama. Although hard of hearing, she keeps herself informed by reading newspapers and watching TV at the convent. "I'm encouraged by Senator Obama," she says. "I've never met him, but he seems to be a good man with a good private life. That's the first thing. Then he must be able to govern," she adds. Sitting in her modest office in the convent where she has lived for the past 50 years, the diminutive nun appears uninterested in the row inside the American Catholic church over Senator Obama's support for pro-choice policies on abortion. Asked about her hopes for the US under an Obama presidency, she says: "Peace abroad. I don't worry about the Iraq war because I can't do anything about it. Lord knows how it will end." "It is very complicated," she said. "Those Eastern people are not like we are." But despite taking part in the 4 November election, Sister Cecilia does not intend to return to the US. "I have no plans for the future. I am too old to go back to the US. Life has changed too much." But she still watches "very important events" on TV. The election comes under this category.