If you ever wished you could be the one asking the questions during a presidential debate, you should visit Ask The Candidates 2012.

The Ask the Candidates 2012 website gives you access to each candidate and with advanced artificial intelligence technology (named Ultra Hal) "the virtual candidates will respond to your questions with actual quotes from their real-life counterpart". All you have to do is type your question, and you'll get your response! The site claims that there is no middle man, there is no bias, and there is no filter; so with this tool the creators hope to create a more open and honest debate.

When you visit the website you will see the 2012 candidates, and you will be able to click on their photo to include them in your answer panel. You will also see an area to type your question into and when you submit your question you will see the quotes selected by the software from each candidate that best answers your initial question. At the center of the this project is an award winning artificial intelligence program created by Zabaware Inc.

You can visit www.askthecandidates2012.com to find out more or to ask the 2012 'candidates' your question.

Thanks for the post, Arthur Lawrence

I don’t normally like to talk politics in any situation ever but since the republican primaries are getting hot and heavy right now I feel the need to talk about them. I am a republican born and raised so it is hard for me to watch the debates with all of the republican candidates and just not get excited about any of them. I feel like at this point I will have to choose between the lesser of two evils and who wants to do that when you are making the all important decision of running the country? The reason I really started thinking about this is the other day on Facebook someone posted a picture of Dwight Shrute from The Office right next to a college picture of Newt Gingrich. I laughed out loud because the similarity is uncanny. You must Google this now. While we are on the subject of The Office, I implore you to watch this show. It is so LOL funny that you will get hooked on it within two episodes. Check out your Dish Television guide to set the recording tonight.

This guest post from Delbert Fowler

Judge Judy is one of those shows that only comes on during the middle of the work day so I rarely get to watch it.

The other day I was home sick and just lying around on the couch searching for something to watch on Direct tv Lincoln when I ran across a listing for Judge Judy. I decided it had been a long time since I have seen that show so I wanted to check it out. She is still the same spitfire that I remember from watching her in my college days. I love how she tells it like it is and doesn’t try to sugar coat it for the people in her court room. I think more judges should act this way. Some of the cases that are put before her in the court are just ridiculous that they are even talking about the issue let alone suing each other for it. I have seen people in disputes over such little amounts of money that it doesn’t even make sense that they would bother with taking the issue to court.

Thanks to Roman May

Being from a small townmeans a lot of things but to me it really means a sense of loyalty to my family.

That’s easier said than done when your parents are old and only getting older but there’s something to be said for a great community like the one I grew up in that really rallies around its residents. I know that even when I’m not able to be home my neighbors are really taking care of my folks. My dad had been talking about learning to email so I looked into Internet Providers Coeburn and decided that’s how I would get in touch with them on a daily basis. They really hate the phone for some reason and the buttons are too small, anyway, so email really just seemed like a natural solution. I don’t know where in the world I got so lucky being from a great community like Coeburn but I’m just thankful I was so that as my parents age I don’t have to worry about them too much.

A Message from The President of The United States:

Hours ago, the Senate voted to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

When that bill reaches my desk, I will sign it, and this discriminatory law will be repealed.

Gay and lesbian service members -- brave Americans who enable our freedoms -- will no longer have to hide who they are.

The fight for civil rights, a struggle that continues, will no longer include this one.

This victory belongs to you. Without your commitment, the promise I made as a candidate would have remained just that.

Instead, you helped prove again that no one should underestimate this movement. Every phone call to a senator on the fence, every letter to the editor in a local paper, and every message in a congressional inbox makes it clear to those who would stand in the way of justice: We will not quit.

This victory also belongs to Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and our many allies in Congress who refused to let politics get in the way of what was right.

Like you, they never gave up, and I want them to know how grateful we are for that commitment.

Will you join me in thanking them by adding your name to Organizing for America's letter?

I will make sure these messages are delivered -- you can also add a comment about what the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" means to you.

As Commander in Chief, I fought to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because it weakens our national security and military readiness. It violates the fundamental American principles of equality and fairness.

But this victory is also personal.

I will never know what it feels like to be discriminated against because of my sexual orientation.

But I know my story would not be possible without the sacrifice and struggle of those who came before me -- many I will never meet, and can never thank.

I know this repeal is a crucial step for civil rights, and that it strengthens our military and national security. I know it is the right thing to do.

But the rightness of our cause does not guarantee success, and today, celebration of this historic step forward is tempered by the defeat of another -- the DREAM Act. I am incredibly disappointed that a minority of senators refused to move forward on this important, commonsense reform that most Americans understand is the right thing for our country. On this issue, our work must continue.

Today, I'm proud that we took these fights on.

Please join me in thanking those in Congress who helped make "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal possible:

http://my.barackobama.com/Repealed

Thank you,

Barack

A recent editorial on Don't Ask Don't Tell in the Washington Times discussed the issue of gays and lesbians serving in the military saying:

Treating military recruitment primarily as a diversity issue opens up a closet full of absurdities. On what basis, then, would the military discriminate against the elderly? Why can't grandpa become a paratrooper? Should the military not reject someone merely because he is handicapped? Why not a wheelchair-bound infantryman?

Comparing sexual orientation to a physical disability, this editorial has ignited a deep concern from the gay and lesbian community.

You can read the full editorial @ the Washington Times.

8: The Mormon Proposition

This film highlights the Mormon Church's historic involvement in the promotion and passage of California's Proposition 8. Order online from Wolfe Video.

For those of you who have been wondering about the latest on Prop. 8 here in California, here is an update.

You may have read that the ban on gay marriage was overturned on August 4, 2010 yet gay marriages did not resume right away. Because the opposition planned to appeal the decision, Judge Walker ordered a stay, or delay, to hear arguments for and against same-sex marriages resuming while awaiting the appeal.

On August 12, 2010 Judge Walker denied a new motion to extend that stay at which point same-sex couples should have been allowed to begin marrying. However, Judge Walker extended the effective date of that order to allow for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (where the case is being appealed) to review the matter.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights was quoted as saying:

“It would be delightful to have marriages resuming this afternoon, but it is understandable why Judge Walker would want the Ninth Circuit to have an opportunity to review. We look forward to the resumption of marriages next week, not only based on principles of equality and fairness, but as affirmations of love and basic humanity.” 

Many people expected marriages to resume the next week, August 17th, 2010 just like Kate Kendell did.

However on August 17, 2010, the Ninth Circuit panel put gay marriage on hold again when they handed down an order to stay the original decision by Judge Walker to overturn the ban while placing the appeal on an expedited schedule to hear the case in December.

September 1, 2010 it was reported that a conservative group filed a motion asking that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown be made to defend the law in federal court. The California Supreme Court then declined that motion and now Meg Whitman is saying she will defend Prop. 8 if elected in this coming election.

With Gov. Schwarzenegger out of the state, another plan was uncovered to enlist the acting Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado to defend the measure and file an appeal on the original case in federal court in the final days in which an appeal could be filed, and that was September 13, 2010.

While awaiting the final decision after the hearing in December you can still find plenty of Prop. 8 coverage online including major donations made by anti-gay advocates, noticeable silence on the part of pro-gay supporters, and other Prop. 8 accusations. An end to the whole situation is still not in sight.

About the Author: Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her website at www.juliephineas.com.