Courtesy of Ben Smith, the McCain / Palin campaign is sending out robo-texts to cell phones with the following message:

Know the facts: Call 641-715-3900 ext. 83682
Then please fwd this 2 your phonebook they need 2 know.
You will Lose your freedoms this November 4th if you don’t know!!!!

“Let’s be clear who Senator McCain is fighting for, he’s not fighting for Joe the plumber. He’s fighting for Joe the hedge fund manager. John McCain likes to talk about Joe the plumber but he’s in cahoots with Joe the CEO. So don’t be fooled, don’t let them hoodwink you”

From yesterday’s Washington Post:

“Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,” said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the “failing march of his predecessor,” President Bush.

You heard right. Al-Qaeda is endorsing John McCain for President. And it isn’t hard to figure out why (but we’ll explain anyway):

We can very easily get caught up in the shouting and bluster of a political season, especially when it’s as partisan and important as this. The tension couldn’t be thicker, and it gets hard to step back from the edge when everyone is marching full tilt.

I came across this picture tonight, and it has re-framed everything for me. It has reminded me that behind all the loud talk, accusations and rhetoric that the idea that we are actually and truly going to elect a black man president of the United States of America…well it’s overwhelmingly historic and I am just happy to be alive and part of the scene. This is what our country is all about and should forever be:

1. Introduction

The feedback loop formed by the population, environment, and poverty nexus (PEP nexus) creates an analytical framework in which to explain the causes of persistent poverty in the developing world. By including environmental and demographic processes in the development paradigm, theorists have succeeded in bringing attention to elements of underdevelopment previously ignored or disregarded. However, the PEP nexus fails to consider other important elements such as migration, public policy, political economy considerations, and realistic developmental interpretations of property rights and labor markets. Empirical evidence from Nepal and Ethiopia will illustrate that while population and environment do act as significant, but partial, determinants, poverty is complex and influenced by a plethora of factors. Though certainly demographic and environmental pressures contribute to destitution and developmental failures in the developing world, it is an oversimplification to reduce poverty to a cyclical nexus.