http://creators.com/ Creators Syndicate is an international syndication company that represents cartoonists and columnists of the highest caliber. en Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:55:57 -0700 ecc67e455028ca399bf1c136abffe84b http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/annies-mailbox/annie-s-mailbox-r-2008-10-12.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Dear Annie: My sister, &quot;Julie,&quot; has been married four times and none of her marriages lasted long. She is now single again and living in an apartment for seniors.</p> <p>Julie has three sons, all of whom married controlling women who hate their mother-in-law. They go out of their way to exclude her from their plans. Meanwhile, Julie spends every cent of her extra money buying birthday ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> f77a8d032f8f7e796822079134b95790 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/men-mars-women-venus/men-are-from-mars-women-are-from-venus-2008-10-12.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Dear John: I've had a good relationship going with a woman I've known for almost a year now. We've been dating for the last six months. Lately, though, after I found out about a couple of lies that she told me before we were dating, I have been questioning everything she does which she is getting tired of quickly. You see, my last relationship was with a girl who lied constantly and cheated on ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> 8b46c66f50269e286da10909a7e1bafa http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/classic-ann-landers/classic-ann-landers-2008-10-12.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Dear Ann Landers: Last December, my husband suffered a severe heart attack. The doctor suggested that I notify his family because he wasn't expected to survive. I called his three children (my stepchildren), who live across the country. The youngest son, &quot;Ivan,&quot; and his wife came immediately.</p> <p>While my husband was recuperating in the hospital, Ivan asked whether he could borrow ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> 88549f8e045574164540126cfe406140 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/edith-lank-house-calls/bank-not-answering.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Dear Edith: Two months ago I found a property I wanted and signed an offer to buy it for what they were asking. The property had been foreclosed and the agent said it would probably take about three weeks for the bank to OK the sale. I wrote out an earnest money check that the agent's office has. I had an OK for the mortgage from my own bank so I was ready to buy.</p> <p>After a month I called ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> 02e4f19c9a7cc585dda6580a437bf26a http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/sylvia-rimm-on-raising-kids/grandparenting-is-tricky-business.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Q. My 5-year-old granddaughter is very quiet at school or when she's out somewhere; however, at her house she's unruly, and she's also become unruly at my house since I've gotten a new dog. She talks back, tells her parents (my son and daughter-in-law) to shut up, and doesn't listen. They recently adopted a 3-year-old dog and she's &quot;mean&quot; to the dog. She hits him or grits her teeth wh ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> 51c9808a9eb8bea335bd6656fbf7e558 http://creators.com/opinion/steve-chapman/the-candidates-in-fairyland.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>When it comes to taxes, this election presents a clear choice. On one side you have a Democrat who proposes to raise taxes. On the other, you have a Republican who proposes to raise taxes.</p> <p>I know, I know, John McCain says he wants to do just the opposite. In the second presidential debate, he opened by declaring, &quot;We have to keep Americans' taxes low. All Americans' taxes low. Let's ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> a43a5d80bd346d67b143d6073797e72a http://creators.com/opinion/rhonda-lokeman/on-being-subversive.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>When I think of Sen. John McCain, I think of Vaclav Havel.</p> <p>Havel, a writer, was a political prisoner under the Czech Communists who ran his country as part of the Soviet empire. McCain was a war prisoner in Communist Vietnam and wants to be our next president.</p> <p>The Czech Communists despised and persecuted intellectuals such as Havel, who defended the weak against the tyranny of the ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> e54ff52539d40d84bb30ad20205dad74 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/holiday-mathis-weekly/horoscopes-by-holiday-2008-10-12.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>A vital surge happens where we most need it when the warrior energy of this week's Aries full moon emboldens folks to stand up and be counted. A personal truth becomes self-evident as this fiery sign instills the courage to recognize what it is we truly want. Mercury will also move directly in Libra, clearing paths. Celebrate the wisdom in courage! Remember, bravery on behalf of your true self ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> ac0bcecc9751cd435bd900529688fbef http://creators.com/opinion/debra-saunders/playing-the-race-card.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>The race card is back.</p> <p>After Tuesday night's debate, Washington party-crossover dean David Gergen announced it was &quot;too early&quot; to declare victory for Democrat Barack Obama, not because the election is a month away, but because &quot;Obama is black.&quot;</p> <p>After GOP running mate Sarah Palin criticized Obama for seeing America as &quot;imperfect enough that he's palling aro ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> c93b25bb9f8b32c060deee0beaec2c27 http://creators.com/opinion/connie-schultz/hopefully-voting.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>On the last day of voter registration in Ohio, Shari Robinson walked toward the board of elections in downtown Cleveland and could not believe her 58-year-old eyes.</p> <p>&quot;It was like going to a Browns game; there was so much excitement,&quot; she said.</p> <p>&quot;Hordes of people were milling about. Old people, young people, black, brown and white people &mdash; it was a cosmos of all ...<br> <br/>Updated: Sun Oct 12, 2008<br/><br/> cbe92717ade67d89b05ed680f04fdbf1 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/hollywood-exclusive/no-more-chipmunks-for-jason-lee-cooper-in-fine-company-with-fiennes-thompson-mirren.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>With a worldwide box-office gross of $360 million, Fox's &quot;Alvin and the Chipmunks&quot; landed among the top 10 money-earning movies of last year. So it's not surprising that there's talk of a sequel. Don't expect Jason Lee to be involved, though.</p> <p>&quot;I don't know if I'm going to do that. I think I'm going to leave the first one alone,&quot; says the &quot;My Name is Earl&quot; st ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 432d1b351aa60361831ee56ffa43e5fd http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/classic-zig-ziglar/he-might-be-mr-hilton.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Several years ago, a new desk clerk at a Hilton hotel was told Mr. Hilton would be checking in sometime during the next two or three days and she must give him a warm, cordial welcome. The young desk clerk was both excited and nervous about the prospect of meeting Mr. Hilton. She did not know what Mr. Hilton looked like, nor did the other two attendants at the desk. With that in mind, she greet ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 52dcdf2d14c5adb9aa8247889d3ab7d4 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/tween-12-and-20/teen-should-visit-grandfather-despite-family-tension.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>DR. WALLACE: I'm 12 and live with my mother and my 11-year-old sister. My parents have been divorced for more than five years. My dad remarried; my sister and I haven't seen him in four years. It's really not his fault because once he got married, my mother told him he was no longer welcome in our house. Even though he hasn't seen us in a long time, he makes his child support payments on time a ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> cbcebbd0f280b8a391015f6305d52c27 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/trivia-bits-stan-newman/trivia-bits-october-13-2008-10-13.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Word of the week: &quot;silent rave.&quot; It is a dance party where all the attendees listen to the same music played simultaneously on their personal headphones, each attached to their own portable music players. Thus no one &quot;just walking in&quot; can hear the music, which is the &quot;silent&quot; part of the term.<br /> <br /> Singer James Brown had five well-known nicknames: &quot;The Go ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 6f3fab1dda3ca354a3cbf834b34a457f http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/everyday-cheapskate/dealing-with-the-urge-to-splurge.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 When they handed out compulsive tendencies, I ended up with more than the standard allotment. I can sit down to watch the evening news and end up owning a pasta machine. I can stop by the mall to look around and come out with three dresses I never will wear, a gift I never will give and several things for the garden. I see what I like and WHAM! I think I need it; I'm entitled to it; and pity the p ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> e3803029cf0eee34e8e77e88588d59f4 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/annies-mailbox/annie-s-mailbox-r-2008-10-13.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Dear Annie: My son, &quot;Quentin,&quot; has always had a problem telling the truth. It started in kindergarten and became worse over time. He's a grown man now and will lie about anything from what he was doing an hour ago to whether he lost his job.</p> <p>Quentin had an affair during his first marriage and when his wife forgave him, he did it again. He has two children from that marriage who ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 3bbfd0830499c02648d62854f2c5ccad http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/kids-talk-about-god/what-does-it-mean-to-hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>&quot;Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled&quot; (Matthew 5:6).</p> <p>&quot;If you do right, you won't get hungry or thirsty,&quot; says Zach, age 6.</p> <p>Actually, to be spiritually thirsty is something different, says Anna, 10: &quot;It means that people who want righteousness thirst for it like water.&quot;</p> <p>Have you ever been thirsty?< ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 65a92f4a1aa33c1b409dba02ebe2646e http://creators.com/opinion/deb-price/gay-group-lends-obama-a-friendly-hand.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Want to know what kind of president Barack Obama would be for gay Americans? Just listen to his longtime gay friends.</p> <p>That was the thinking of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) PAC, the political arm of the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group.</p> <p>So after endorsing Obama, HRC sent a camera crew to Chicago to interview gay folks &mdash; like activist Gail Morse ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> c9c0f68ef47396fc7d7f56c9b4869411 http://creators.com/opinion/dick-morris/gallup-polls-and-the-dow-average-mccain-s-problem.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>For McCain to win this election (which he still can), the furor over the stock market will have to calm down so that popular attention can focus on Barack Obama. For all of the deluge of media that has engulfed the American people, they can only keep one subject on their mind. All media have only one focus at a time. And, if you are in the spotlight, you are almost certain to self-destruct.</p> ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/> 976cd61e16baa4fa1ff56a33476e1652 http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/horoscopes-by-holiday/horoscopes-by-holiday-2008-10-13.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 <p>Be nice to people, and remember you're a &quot;people,&quot; too! Today's Aries moon energizes the selfish side of the individual, and encouraging the self to do selfish things isn't at all bad. If you're not on your own side, how can you expect anyone else to be? Seize this opportunity to get back in touch with your own delights and proclivities.</p> <p>ARIES (March 21-April 19). You're profes ...<br> <br/>Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008<br/><br/>