Republican pollster Frank Luntz thinks so. He sought to reassure the California Republican delegation that Obama's lead in polls is, in part, an illusion...

If you're thinking about ways to update your wardrobe on a budget (and who isn't these days?) think about adding one great accessory, something that will work with everything and last beyond this season.  The simplest upgrade is a really fantastic bag.  Bags are fabulous because they always fit (unlike your jeans), they're practical (your cell phone has to go SOMEWHERE!), and the right bag can dress up even the most basic jeans-and-tee combo.

Consider this either a public service announcement or a warning siren. You see, two years ago just about now, I was obsessed, completely, with learning all the tips and tricks for slow-roasting tomatoes. All the recipes suggested roasting tomatoes for an hour. Me, over 17 batches of slow-roasted tomatoes, I kept stretching and stretching the oven time until finally settling on the 'sweet spot' for slow-roasted tomatoes roasted for ...

Thanks to Dr. Kiki Wants Your Help at .51 for leading me to The Bird's Brain.

Ever since I've heard about Curtis Sittenfield's American Wife I've been wary. It's really not due to the fact that it's based on the life of Laura Bush but that it's fiction that is based on a public person while they are still, you know, alive. The long-time dead don't bother me so much, Jane Austen as an amateur detective? I can handle that. But basing a book on Laura Bush, while her husband is still in office no less?

A new report is out about insurance and health care, and it's not good. If you think the cost of health care is high now, just wait...It's going to get even higher. Who would have thought that you could have insurance, and still not be able to afford healthcare? How is that possible? Only in America.

This week I had the great opportunity to talk with author Mary Ellen Geist.  Several years ago Mary Ellen was described by the New York Times as the:

I can't think any more today about the election. My brain is full. During this season of conventions and media debates, I have been a spiritual domestic goddess by day and a TV watcher by night. I bought a 9 cubic foot freezer. I have been buying vegetables and various freezeables for days now. My friends are asking me, "So, what did you do with tomatoes today?"

Whether you enjoy the Oprah Winfrey empire or would rather pass, it's undeniable that Winfrey is a force to be reckoned with. It is a hard admission for me to make as a pop-culture aficionado that I do not actually have a television.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association recently announced a new policy. The new rule stated that players had to pass an English language efficiency exam or face suspension.Understandably the players, fans, sponsors and the blogosphere freaked out. The Asian American Justice Center has a slight problem with this requirement, though, and are organizing a boycott to try and overturn this new ruling:

In a previous post, Spirituality, Religion and Activism: What's the Connection?, I mentioned the work of the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation. The Fund supports organizations that are using "inner work" to inform their activism. 

This week I joined much of America in my concern as two significant events unfolded. The first was the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. The second was Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf Coast.