Sports Metaphors: Barack Obama Fails At Bowling In Pennsylvania: "Barack Obama did some serious damage to his credibility with working-class white voters this weekend when he proved that he is a total spastic failure at bowling. He and fellow pantywaist Senator Bob Casey bowled worse than two girls with no arms, leaving no doubt in the minds of many voters that he is out of touch with the concerns of regular hard-working Americans. Read all about how an evening at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center became his Waterloo, after the jump.
Obama bowled a humiliating 37 in an evening that featured the following highlights:..."
It's too painful to go on.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Mysterious Disappearances
Quoted from http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/03/whos-scrubbing.html:
The website for Sen. Barack Obama's church -- Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago -- not long ago described the "Black Value System" in the "About Us" section of its website.
And it used to provide a link to the Trumpet Magazine that once gave an award to Louis Farrakhan -- a magazine published by Rev. Jeremiah Wright's daughter.
You can see the old webpage, including both the Black Value System and a link to Trumpet HERE
Interestingly, Trumpet used to have a web presence and now it doesn't seem to...
Will's Law
Crooks and Liars: "WILL: Can I propose Will’s Law? We can all agree on this. Three liberals and Will. Will’s Law is that no company, such as JPMorgan now, or BearStearns, that is getting substantial subvention from the federal government shall be allowed to pay any of its executives for than the GS-15, that’s $124,000. That would stop the run to Washington..."
Of course, George Will will get the credit for this variation on a theme, but I've heard the same thing for years. albeit in different forms such as "No CEO can be paid more than 100 times the wage of the lowest paid person in an organization." I am highly in favor of any variation that keeps the undeserving rich from getting richer.
Of course, George Will will get the credit for this variation on a theme, but I've heard the same thing for years. albeit in different forms such as "No CEO can be paid more than 100 times the wage of the lowest paid person in an organization." I am highly in favor of any variation that keeps the undeserving rich from getting richer.
Who Knew What When?
Where Was Media When Sub-Prime Disaster Unfolded?: "By Danny Schechter
(March 27, 2008) -- 'It is somewhat surprising,' Larry Elliott, economics editor of London's The Guardian observed recently, 'that there is not already rioting in the streets, given the gigantic fraud perpetrated by the financial elite at the expense of ordinary Americans.” If such a fraud was taking place, and if Wall Street’s financial crisis, according to the usually staid Economist, was on the edge of “disaster” with a “financial nuclear winter” waiting in the wings, why were American news consumers among the last to know?"...
(March 27, 2008) -- 'It is somewhat surprising,' Larry Elliott, economics editor of London's The Guardian observed recently, 'that there is not already rioting in the streets, given the gigantic fraud perpetrated by the financial elite at the expense of ordinary Americans.” If such a fraud was taking place, and if Wall Street’s financial crisis, according to the usually staid Economist, was on the edge of “disaster” with a “financial nuclear winter” waiting in the wings, why were American news consumers among the last to know?"...
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Blogosphere Jumps Shark?
Quoted from http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2008/03/30/the-progressive-blogoshperes-deal-with-the-devil/:
...I find the slow descent to progressive irrelevancy on a couple of issues worthy of deeper discussion. First is the protection of the franchise. The idea that rules can be written to deliberately disenfranchise voters, and that politicians are “sleeping well at night” after disenfranchising voters should be something progressives shout about. A former friend of mine (good ol’ Unity Pony Obama has broken up more of my friendships than even Bush did!) used to be a big advocate of paper trails and protecting the vote. On the disenfranchisement of FL and MI because of “rules” (funny, using non secure e-voting machines can be considered “rules” as well)? Silence. An Obama win by adhering to fundamentally unjust rules is more important than principles of democacy. Sad. And dangerous.
The other issue is the legitimization of media manipulation. When the media was giving George W. Bush a free ride and cheer leading the nation to war in Iraq the progressive blogosphere was rightly up in arms. But, as Boehlert says above, part of the progressive blogosphere has encouraged the manipulation of the facts in regard to press coverage of Hillary Clinton. There has been a willful acceptance and active participation in the sexist attacks and character assassination of Hillary Clinton, as the Drudge picture fiasco so clearly demonstrates. The progressive blogosphere’s participation in the manipulation is probably best characterized by Matt Yglesia’s claim that us Hillary folk need to be told by “credible party leaders” how to vote and participate in the electoral process...
Recrunching The Math
Projection: Clinton Wins Popular Vote, Obama Wins Delegate Count - Michael Barone (usnews.com): "...The Clinton campaign has taken to boasting that its candidate has won states with more electoral votes than has Barack Obama. True. By my count, Clinton has won 14 states with 219 electoral votes (16 states with 263 electoral votes if you include Florida and Michigan) while Obama has won 27 states (I'm counting the District of Columbia as a state, but not the territories) with 202 electoral votes. Eight states with 73 electoral votes have still to vote. In percentage terms, Clinton has won states with 41 percent of the electoral votes (49 percent if you include Florida and Michigan), while Obama has won states with 38 percent of electoral votes. States with 14 percent of the electoral votes have yet to vote..."
Dirty Tricks
From here:
This could be staged but...
Update: here's a link from the subject of the video stating her position and explaining how the video came about.
This could be staged but...
Update: here's a link from the subject of the video stating her position and explaining how the video came about.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Why No Edwards Endorsement
Will Hillary Clinton Listen to Anyone Adivising Her to Quit? -- New York Magazine: "...But now two months have passed since Edwards dropped out—tempus fugit!—and still no endorsement. Why? According to a Democratic strategist unaligned with any campaign but with knowledge of the situation gleaned from all three camps, the answer is simple: Obama blew it. Speaking to Edwards on the day he exited the race, Obama came across as glib and aloof. His response to Edwards’s imprecations that he make poverty a central part of his agenda was shallow, perfunctory, pat. Clinton, by contrast, engaged Edwards in a lengthy policy discussion. Her affect was solicitous and respectful. When Clinton met Edwards face-to-face in North Carolina ten days later, her approach continued to impress; she even made headway with Elizabeth. Whereas in his Edwards sit-down, Obama dug himself in deeper, getting into a fight with Elizabeth about health care, insisting that his plan is universal (a position she considers a crock), high-handedly criticizing Clinton’s plan (and by extension Edwards’s) for its insurance mandate.
The implications of this story are several and not insignificant. Most obviously, it suggests that the front-runner’s diplomatic skills could use some refinement. It also raises the issue, which has cropped up in a different form after New Hampshire, Super-Duper Tuesday, and the Ohio and Texas primaries, of Obama’s capacity to close the deal. But equally important is how it bears on the questions du jour among Democrats who see their once-uplifting primary campaign descending into self-destructive mayhem: How can we put this thing to bed? How can Clinton be stopped from putting the party through three more months of hell? Where are those vaunted “party elders” who can convince her that it’s sayonara time?..."
Dissing GOPer Women
Tennessee Guerilla Women: "...Republicans would never stand for the media to treat Rice or any other woman on the Republican ticket with the vile disrespect showered on Hillary Rodham Clinton. Democrats have benefited from and all but begged corporate media to insult Hillary, and thus all women, with daily barrels of misogyny. With Condi Rice on the ticket, I'm guessing sexism becomes a firing offense at MSNBC. And I'm guessing Rush Limbaugh begins to look like a sensitive and gracious gentleman next to sexist thug Bill Maher.
Why am I a Democrat? I forget."
Er, uh, another good question.
Why am I a Democrat? I forget."
Er, uh, another good question.
Reminder For The Silent Majority
...that would be the Dead.
Quoted from http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2008/03/and-god-wont-take-time-to-sort-your.html:
If I Ran the Zoo: And God Won't Take the Time to Sort Your Ashes from Mine
And God Won't Take the Time to Sort Your Ashes from Mine
A note to the more unhinged partisans of one candidate or another (yes, I'm talking to you and you and you): if President McCain starts a nuclear conflagration that incinerates us all, it isn't going to matter who supported whom in the primaries...
Worth remembering for sure.
Bad To The Bone Vid
Quoted from http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/29/65423/4259:
*Video* - An "ad" that ensures Obama's blown out in November
by Universal, Sat Mar 29, 2008 at 06:54:23 AM EST
Some of us have our eyes shut, we are immune from what's going on around us. Safe behind our force field bubbles. All is good.
Others among us know what's coming. We're the realists, the pragmatists. We're not caught up in pie-in-the-sky fantasies, but grim reality.
I don't endorse the views in this video but I do respect the idea that is the kind of thing we will be seeing from the GOP and their surrogates in the fall. Remember that movie trashing Kerry that was shown on all the Sinclair controlled television stations? Obama is a an easier target by far.
No embed. You'll have to go the link if you want to see video.
To Prof Or Not To Prof
Lynn Sweet: Sweet: Obama did NOT "hold the title" of a University of Chicago law school professor.: "WASHINGTON—The University of Chicago released a statement on Thursday saying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) “served as a professor” in the law school—but that is a title Obama, who taught courses there part-time, never held, a spokesman for the school confirmed on Friday.
“He did not hold the title of professor of law,” said Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky, an Assistant Dean for Communications and Lecturer in Law at the school, on East 60th St. in Chicago..."
Nor was he dodging bullets in Bosnia. Which tale has had the most traction? Which matters?
“He did not hold the title of professor of law,” said Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky, an Assistant Dean for Communications and Lecturer in Law at the school, on East 60th St. in Chicago..."
Nor was he dodging bullets in Bosnia. Which tale has had the most traction? Which matters?
Friday, March 28, 2008
To Fire Or Not
NO QUARTER: "Just this past January, James Carville and Paul Begala were fired from CNN for their association with Hillary Clinton. But Roland Martin? He’s CNN’s new favored commentator. The only thing is, CNN doesn’t tell you that he is a professional apologist for and supporter of Barack Obama. He is also a friend and close associate of Obama’s national Co-Chairman, Jesse Jackson Jr. and he attends the Salem Baptist Church of Reverend James Meeks, another of Barack Obama’s spiritual advisors. So why hasn’t he been fired too?"...
Read the post before you decide he is full of it.
Read the post before you decide he is full of it.
More On Carville v. Judas
Carville Unloads: Richardson Misled, Promised He'd Back Hillary - Politics on The Huffington Post: "Long time Clinton backer James Carville charged on Thursday that, prior to endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, Bill Richardson promised several 'very, very senior' Clinton supporters that he would back the New York Democrat.
Carville said the matter was 'terribly mishandled' by Richardson and that the New Mexico governor owed Clinton supporters an apology..."
Carville said the matter was 'terribly mishandled' by Richardson and that the New Mexico governor owed Clinton supporters an apology..."
Freedom?
Siegelman To Be Released From Prison Pending Appeal - News - NBC13.com: "ATLANTA, Ga. -- The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted former Gov. Don Siegelman's request to be released from prison pending the outcome of his appeal.
Siegelman is currently serving a 7-year sentence in the Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex in Louisiana following his 2006 public corruption conviction..."
Let's hope this good news is true. If you're not familiar with this sorry saga, you need to become acquainted with the situation. Start with the above link.
Siegelman is currently serving a 7-year sentence in the Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex in Louisiana following his 2006 public corruption conviction..."
Let's hope this good news is true. If you're not familiar with this sorry saga, you need to become acquainted with the situation. Start with the above link.
No, The Incompetence Isn't Over
The Raw Story | House to investigate defense contract to firm that shipped Chinese-made ammo to Afghanistan: "A lengthy investigation published Thursday reveals that the Pentagon gave an inexperienced 22-year-old a $300 million contract to provide ammunition to Afghanistan. The shady deal resulted in decades old, substandard munitions being delivered to US and Afghan troops fighting on the front lines of the war on terror..."
Jeeze. Just shoot me.
Jeeze. Just shoot me.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Journalistic Barrel Scrapings
Well, it's not another blue dress story but it still sticks to the bottom of your shoe.
Quoted from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032602225.html?hpid=opinionsbox1:
Making Up Is Hard to Do - washingtonpost.com
The conversation was about how tiring it must be to run for president, and someone -- a woman -- said that, on top of everything else, Hillary Clinton has to spend an hour and a half getting ready for each day's campaigning. She didn't mean studying her notes and making sure she knows the name of the mayor of McKeesport. She meant doing her hair, putting on her makeup, deciding what to wear or at least thinking about it even if she has someone else to decide for her. And so on. Other women ridiculed the notion of an hour and a half, but the bottom offer was 40 minutes. And that's just in the morning. Shorter versions of the morning ritual go on throughout the day...
God protect us from beasties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night and journalists.
About That Bush Doctrine
Hullabaloo: "...Gee, I wonder if the Bush Doctrine includes a provision for premptive pardons?
Cheney's memory is a great fallacy that haunts us today, just as the misbegotten Iraq war will haunt us 30 years from now. It was a huge mistake to pardon Richard Nixon and I say that as someone who thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I was very young and had a soft heart and thought that it was gratuitous to punish him more after his terrible humiliation and that it would be good for the country to 'move on.'
Allowing Nixon to get away with his crimes while his fellow Republicans angrily stewed over the injustice of his downfall is what led to the ongoing usurpation of the constitution under Republican rule. They believe the president is above the law and the constitution. Why wouldn't they? They do these things and there's no accountability so they do it again the first chance they get, always upping the ante. When they finally lose an election and take a breather from illegal wars and pillaging and shredding the constitution, the Democrats are so busy beating back political attacks and trying to clean up the mess that they decide accountability isn't worth it. They 'bind up the wounds' allowing the infection to fester until the next time it happens..."
The next cycle must include punishment for the Bush Criminals. It is the only way to stop the law breaking-- if justice is swift, sure, and pardon-free.
Cheney's memory is a great fallacy that haunts us today, just as the misbegotten Iraq war will haunt us 30 years from now. It was a huge mistake to pardon Richard Nixon and I say that as someone who thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I was very young and had a soft heart and thought that it was gratuitous to punish him more after his terrible humiliation and that it would be good for the country to 'move on.'
Allowing Nixon to get away with his crimes while his fellow Republicans angrily stewed over the injustice of his downfall is what led to the ongoing usurpation of the constitution under Republican rule. They believe the president is above the law and the constitution. Why wouldn't they? They do these things and there's no accountability so they do it again the first chance they get, always upping the ante. When they finally lose an election and take a breather from illegal wars and pillaging and shredding the constitution, the Democrats are so busy beating back political attacks and trying to clean up the mess that they decide accountability isn't worth it. They 'bind up the wounds' allowing the infection to fester until the next time it happens..."
The next cycle must include punishment for the Bush Criminals. It is the only way to stop the law breaking-- if justice is swift, sure, and pardon-free.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Mitchell Mauled
Quoted from http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/:
Jamie Rubin Flogs AndreaMitchell
Posted on March 26, 2008 by riverdaughter
MABlue helpfully provides us with this link of Jamie Rubin getting his point across and lazy@$$ “journalist”, Andrea Mitchell having to sit there and take it. Rubin is frickin’ brilliant. He had all of his notes prepared in advance and called her on all of the distracting, discrediting points she was prepared to make. The point he kept driving home again and again is that the race will not be decided by pundits or the clique of Washington DC press (ie, The Villagers). Hillary’s not getting out of the race just because they demand it and there are millions of voters out there who havent’ been heard from and THEY will decide. Not YOU, Andrea.
So, there. :-p
The PBS Cop-Out
PBS’ Frontline Cop-Out : NO QUARTER: "Frontline: Too Timid, Too Little, Too Late: Frontline’s “Bush’s War” on PBS Monday and Tuesday evening was a nicely put-together rehash of the top players’ trickery that led to the attack on Iraq, together with the power-grabbing, back-stabbing, and limitless incompetence of the occupation.
Except for an inside-the-beltway tidbit here and there—for example, about how the pitiable secretary of state Colin Powell had to suffer so many indignities at the hands of other type-A hard chargers, Frontline added little to the discussion. Notably missing was any allusion to the unconscionable role the Fourth Estate adopted as indiscriminate cheerleader for the home team; nor was there any mention that the invasion was a serious violation of international law. But those omissions, I suppose, should have come as no surprise..."
Except for an inside-the-beltway tidbit here and there—for example, about how the pitiable secretary of state Colin Powell had to suffer so many indignities at the hands of other type-A hard chargers, Frontline added little to the discussion. Notably missing was any allusion to the unconscionable role the Fourth Estate adopted as indiscriminate cheerleader for the home team; nor was there any mention that the invasion was a serious violation of international law. But those omissions, I suppose, should have come as no surprise..."
O'Hype
Democrat Taylor Marsh Broadcasts Live Talk Radio and Blogs Politics
Smears and Tears: How Obama's National Security Week Turned Into the Mendacity of Hype
by Joe Wilson
Smears and Tears: How Obama's National Security Week Turned Into the Mendacity of Hype
by Joe Wilson
"...Understandably, Senator Obama's speech on race relations overshadowed Senator Clinton's policy pronouncements. While laudable in intent, Senator Obama would never have made the speech had his relationship with fiery pastor Jeremiah Wright not become a public relations nightmare for him. Among other things, Wright preaches that the United States government unleashed the HIV virus in Africa to kill blacks. (Having worked in Africa for much of my adult life, including with one of the early AIDS researchers, Dr. Jonathan Mann, I can safely say that there is absolutely no evidence to sustain Wright's reckless charge.) Obama had no choice but to address his 20-year close relationship with a man he still considers, as he made clear in his speech, a mentor.
In the immediate aftermath, the Obama campaign dispatched several foreign policy surrogates to blitz the airwaves, supposedly to offer alternatives to Clinton's recommendations. But that's not what happened. Instead, Hillary was subjected to yet another round of personal abuse, denigration and ridicule rather than a serious debate of the issues. The real subtext of the Obama campaign was to attack Hillary in order to distract from Obama's association with his anti-American preacher. National security went un-addressed. Rather than filling in his largely absent record, Obama had his surrogates engage in what can be termed the mendacity of hype..."
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Churchers
Quoted from http://www.slate.com/id/2187277/pagenum/all/:
...And what a shame. I assume you all have your copies of The Audacity of Hope in paperback breviary form. If you turn to the chapter entitled "Faith," beginning on Page 195, and read as far as Page 208, I think that even if you don't concur with my reading, you may suspect that I am onto something. In these pages, Sen. Obama is telling us that he doesn't really have any profound religious belief, but that in his early Chicago days he felt he needed to acquire some spiritual "street cred." The most excruciatingly embarrassing endorsement of this same viewpoint came last week from Abigail Thernstrom at National Review Online. Overcome by "the speech" that the divine one had given in Philadelphia, she urged us to be understanding. "Obama's description of the parishioners in his church gave white listeners a glimpse of a world of faith (with 'raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor … dancing, clapping, screaming, and shouting') that has been the primary means of black survival and uplift." A glimpse, huh? What the hell next? A tribute to the African-American sense of rhythm? ...
The Coming Storm
Anglachel's Journal: When Wishes Come True: "...I want her to make The Precious fight every step of the way in order to teach Howard Dean that a 50 state strategy includes all the voters of all the states, not just those who support Howie's favorite. I want her to continue to stand up for the millions of voters Golden Boy Barry has declared to be untrustworthy and undeserving of a vote because they may not vote for him. And, after Obama's forces descend on the Denver convention in buses chartered by Obama to haul half of Chicago accross the plains, and hold a made-for-the-media 'riot' (kind of like 1968 crossed with the Florida recount), and threaten the super delegates into voting for The Precious, I will grimly watch the crushing defeat of Obama, Dean, Pelosi, Brazile, Richardson and all the other idiots who succumbed to Clinton Derangement Syndrome.
This is what the DNC deserves for having turned a campaign to promote our party into a witch hunt to politically murder the person most popular with the Democratic rank and file and the most qualified to lead the nation in a time of growing crisis.
Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it."
And once again the Democrats will have demonstrated that like no other disorganization in the history of eternity itself, they can snatch defeat away from the jaws of certain victory.
This is what the DNC deserves for having turned a campaign to promote our party into a witch hunt to politically murder the person most popular with the Democratic rank and file and the most qualified to lead the nation in a time of growing crisis.
Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it."
And once again the Democrats will have demonstrated that like no other disorganization in the history of eternity itself, they can snatch defeat away from the jaws of certain victory.
Young Clinton Retorts
Quoted from http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/:
Chelsea Speaks UP! Go, Chelsea, Go!!
Remember Monica? How could you forget. It was every fourth word on the lips of breathless media reporters and pundits during 1998-2000. They would not let it die and won’t let us forget it.
And they’re still at it. Today, somebody stupidly asked Chelsea Clinton about it:
Campaigning at Butler College in Indianapolis, an audience member asked the 28 year-old whether the Monica Lewinsky scandal had damaged her mother’s reputation.
“Wow, you’re the first person actually that’s ever asked me that question in the, I don’t know maybe, 70 college campuses I’ve now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business,” Clinton responded, appearing a bit surprised by the question. The crowd immediately cheered loudly at the response.
Amazing! What a perfect response. I couldn’t have said it better myself. You tell’em, Chelsea!
On The Audacity of Nope
Democrat Taylor Marsh Broadcasts Live Talk Radio and Blogs Politics: "...The bottom line is that Obama is afraid to let Michigan and Florida vote for fear Clinton will reveal the full breadth of Obama's Wright catastrophe. He simply can't afford for it to be revealed what Wright will cost going forward in states like Michigan and Florida, especially in the general election. He's putting himself above counting the votes. It's not shocking, because he wants to win, but it is short-sided..."
Radio News
XM Sirius Merger Approved : CMR: "Arlington (CMR) - According to media reports Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger of Shareholders of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
“After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers,” the department said..."
Given its history, its hard to a believe a Bushland FCC approved this. Wonder why?
“After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers,” the department said..."
Given its history, its hard to a believe a Bushland FCC approved this. Wonder why?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Rep. Frank Wants Pot Possible
Rep. Frank says he'll file bill to legalize marijuana - Boston.com: "BOSTON—Rep. Barney Frank said he plans to file a bill to legalize 'small amounts' of marijuana.
more stories like this
Frank announced his plans late Friday on the HBO show 'Real Time,' hosted by Bill Maher.
'I'm going to file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana,' Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Maher..."
Go, Barney! Common sense descends on Washington. I wonder if McCain will veto the bill? (Yes, I mean St. Clueless the Confused-- next year.)
more stories like this
Frank announced his plans late Friday on the HBO show 'Real Time,' hosted by Bill Maher.
'I'm going to file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana,' Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Maher..."
Go, Barney! Common sense descends on Washington. I wonder if McCain will veto the bill? (Yes, I mean St. Clueless the Confused-- next year.)
About That Strike
NO QUARTER: "...The first thing that EVERYONE needs to do is to stop mentioning the name of the site that the writer’s strike is all about. I know that some of you are wondering that if we don’t mention it people won’t know where we are talking about. But believe me. This is a biggie. People know.
And why should you stop mentioning the name? Quite simply so that none of the efforts of our stories are allowed to be crawled by google or anyone else and added to any search engine promoting that place. If the whole idea is to dry up advertising support then let’s be smart about this and not give anyone any reason to visit there. So no more quotes too..."
And why should you stop mentioning the name? Quite simply so that none of the efforts of our stories are allowed to be crawled by google or anyone else and added to any search engine promoting that place. If the whole idea is to dry up advertising support then let’s be smart about this and not give anyone any reason to visit there. So no more quotes too..."
The Golden Age
Daily Howler: Why in the world is Michelle Bernard praising Obama on Hardball: "...There was once a golden age of liberal politics—the period after the invention of talk radio but before the invention of the web. During that period, only conservatives had a way to show how stupid they were..."
No More Craig
TheHill.com - Craig keeps promise to retire: "Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), encumbered by a scandal since last summer, did not file for reelection by his state’s deadline Friday, keeping a promise he made and officially marking the end of his congressional career..."
This doesn't make my Small Justice category because his crime can't even compare to Libby's treason.
This doesn't make my Small Justice category because his crime can't even compare to Libby's treason.
GOPer For 'Bama
TBogg: "...In one of the most vacuous statements I've ever read, Douglas Kmiec has endorsed Barack Obama for president. Kmiec is a Republican who served in the Justice Department under President Reagan and the first President Bush. Until recently, Kmiec was co-chair of the Romney for President Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts..."
Honky Likings
ABC News: The Rapid Rise of 'Stuff White People Like'
Three months ago, Christian Lander was nothing more than an anonymous Internet copywriter living in Los Angeles. Today, his blog "Stuff White People Like" is a heavily-trafficked, much-discussed site that last week netted him a book deal. How did he rise from relative obscurity to creating a pop culture touchstone in just a few months time?
Gee. Go figure.
Burn It Down
The Field » Plan Jericho: "...Call it Plan Jericho: Like Joshua of the Old Testament and his troops who circled the halls of the city, marched around it silently for six days, on the seventh day marched around it seven times more and then, on cue, sounded a horn to end the silence and shout all at once, toppled the walls, entered the city, and “killed” (the Bible says so literally, but this time it will be politically, not mortally) every man, woman and superdelegate – including any imposter they might “nominate” by imposition – that did not participate in the certain walk-out protest that will occur under their scenario and instead chooses to remain inside the hall.
It won’t be the chaotic street protest and battle with the cops that occurred in ’68: we’ve learned too much from that. It will be organized, Gandhian in its adherence to discipline and nonviolence, and more massive than anything maybe ever seen in the United States’ long history of social movements. If the party leaders choose to destroy democracy by denying the fair-and-square winner the nomination, democracy will then be duty bound to destroy the party..."
Been there. Done that. Didn't work then. Won't work now. I can't quite picture Obama's latte crowd missing too much overpaid work and losing their jobs and then finding themselves in the same position as Clinton supporters. Go ahead. Make threats. That will knock all those Clinton supporters' knees together. Scare those toothless grandmas so they'll give it up for the new generation. All you old people-- why don't you over there and just die and let us postracials run the show. These messages, among others, are one I can so not get behind. But what would I know-- just being an old, typical white Democratic mostly liberal veteran with about a thousand relatives reinforcing my thinking.
Of course, Clinton supporters would never do such a thing. Would they? Would they?
It won’t be the chaotic street protest and battle with the cops that occurred in ’68: we’ve learned too much from that. It will be organized, Gandhian in its adherence to discipline and nonviolence, and more massive than anything maybe ever seen in the United States’ long history of social movements. If the party leaders choose to destroy democracy by denying the fair-and-square winner the nomination, democracy will then be duty bound to destroy the party..."
Been there. Done that. Didn't work then. Won't work now. I can't quite picture Obama's latte crowd missing too much overpaid work and losing their jobs and then finding themselves in the same position as Clinton supporters. Go ahead. Make threats. That will knock all those Clinton supporters' knees together. Scare those toothless grandmas so they'll give it up for the new generation. All you old people-- why don't you over there and just die and let us postracials run the show. These messages, among others, are one I can so not get behind. But what would I know-- just being an old, typical white Democratic mostly liberal veteran with about a thousand relatives reinforcing my thinking.
Of course, Clinton supporters would never do such a thing. Would they? Would they?
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Swooning and Reality Commenting
Comments at TaylorMarsh.com:
One More
"'...In all fairness, both sides have had peopel faintign at presentations, usualy becuase they have been waiting for hours, standing, with nothign to eat or drink, and then are often in hot, crowded conditions.
The media just seems to make..here is a supriose..more of a production of it when it's an Obama event, where they imply that yes, it's girls 'Swooning' over him.
Rima | 03.23.2008 - 4:06 pm | #"
One More
"...But here’s the kicker. Jim VamderHei and Mike Allen, who are clearly fans of the Republican party, make no mistake about that, write this stupid paragraph in the above mentioned post:
Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.
How about we do some truthful rearranging?
Because here’s the REAL situation:
Unless Obama is able to win at least one large electoral college state or swing state outside of Illinios — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, he has only one scenario for victory. A more qualified opponent and her backers in NJ, NY, CA, MA, OH, AZ, TX, (PA), MI and FL would be told that, even though she won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.
And if you think you can haka your way to the nomination and sit on the millions and millions of us who voted for Clinton in the big electoral college states, YOU are the one out of your minds. We are going to swing a big stick. Count on it.
Disenfranchisement Disenchantment
Quoted from http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/ah-jeez-theyre-at-it-again/:
Both TalkingPointsMemo and The Politico are winding up the “there’s no possible way Hillary can win” crap. Esentially, these guys are trying to make the voters of PA, WV, KY, IN and NC feel that there is no possible way our votes can count so why bother? Before I go off on another post describing why this is just a haka, let me just express how incredibly disappointed I am with my own party.
We were supposed to be the good guys. We were the ones for counting every vote. We were disgusted with voter suppression in Ohio in 2004. We were the ones who hated Rovian tactics of smearing other people’s character. We were apalled when the Republicans tried to control their primaries in 2000 by essentially picking a candidate in advance and defaming John McCain in South Carolina with racist smears and innuendos.
And what do we have this year? We have the DNC disenfranchising what they must have known in advance was going to be a pro-Hillary state- Florida. They didn’t just apply the standard punishment, they completely wiped the voters off of the map. We have a candidate who is just fine with suppressing the voters of MI and FL by passively dragging his feet so their voices don’t get heard unless they don’t count. And by extension, he is robbing NJ, NY, CA, AZ, MA, OH and TX the critical mass it needs for Clinton while at the same time artificially inflating the delegate counts and popular vote of Obama. If it isn’t technically cheating, it is certainly immoral. We have one candidate, Senator Obama, accusing the Clintons, life long advocates of civil rights and healing the racial divide, of being racists. We’ve heard Senator Obama offer an olive branch to Clinton on the floor of the senate and then had his campaign turn around and accuse her of ruthlessness and unethical behavior. And we’ve had the mouthpiece for the DNC, Donna Brazile, go on Sunday morning talking heads programs and threaten to leave the Democratic party if she doesn’t get her way and Obama doesn’t get nominated...
On St.Clueless' Iraq Gaffe Pass
Quoted from http://www.crooksandliars.com/:
On Meet the Press this morning, NBC’s Chuck Todd got honest and told us what we already know, but what the media rarely likes to confess. McCain has a lot in the bank with the media and they will help him out of his problems. You’re all aware of McCain’s linking al-Qaeda to Iran all last week—which is not happening because of the Sunni/Shia difference. He had to get bailed out by his Lieberman posse and his FOX friend Britt Hume, but the real story given to us by Chuck Todd is that the media would have attacked either of the two Democratic nominees for days on end over the same gaffe...
Dynasty Is Good In PA
Dynasty: Not a dirty word in Pennsylvania - Carrie Budoff Brown - Politico.com: "PHILADELPHIA — If there were a manual to winning statewide elections in Pennsylvania, it would include at least two observations:
First, dynasty is not a dirty word.
And second, expect to run at least one or two times before voters reward you. They like their politicians to feel as familiar as their morning cup of coffee.
In the presidential primary campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — the political equivalent of Maxwell House after years of appearing with her husband in the state — is benefiting not just from the demographics of Pennsylvania, but from its unique amber-preserved culture..."
First, dynasty is not a dirty word.
And second, expect to run at least one or two times before voters reward you. They like their politicians to feel as familiar as their morning cup of coffee.
In the presidential primary campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — the political equivalent of Maxwell House after years of appearing with her husband in the state — is benefiting not just from the demographics of Pennsylvania, but from its unique amber-preserved culture..."
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Hillary Historical
Clinton got along with GOP in Senate - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in the Senate before she had even surrendered the title of first lady.
An anything-but-typical freshman, she surprised skeptics with how well she fit in to a chamber where reputations are usually built over decades..."
An anything-but-typical freshman, she surprised skeptics with how well she fit in to a chamber where reputations are usually built over decades..."
Covering St. Clueless
Media Matters - USA Today 's Page on McCain's Iran-Al Qaeda falsehood: "[M]ost Americans can't tell you the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, either"
Most Americans aren't running for president either.
Most Americans aren't running for president either.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Prof Goes Clinton
African American Studies prof. tells ... - Hillary for President - tribe.net: "Ms. Johnson-Baily tells us 'I have been called a Mammy so much over these last few weeks as I've voiced my support for Senator Clinton that I have started sending out this response to my Black girlfriends who call me a race traitor.' Here's the letter:..."
O'Bashing Bashed
Quoted from http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Chris_Wallace_Two_hours_of_Obama_0321.html:
The Raw Story | Chris Wallace to Fox hosts: Two hours of Obama-bashing is enough
Veteran journalist Chris Wallace admonished Fox & Friends over their characterization of a comment in which Obama referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person."
"I love you guys, but I want to take you to task if I may respectfully for a moment," Wallace began. "I have been watching the show..., and it seems to me that two hours of Obama-bashing on this 'typical white person' remark is somewhat excessive, and frankly, I think you're somewhat distorting what Obama had to say..."
Women and Politics
Quoted from http://noquarterusa.net/blog/:
...For those who support Senator Obama, I ask only that you read this and consider the substance of Hillary Clinton, the woman who will “do anything to be President.” Although this phrase is used as a weapon meant to attack, it is based on partial truth. Hillary Clintonwilldo just about anything, but I believe it is mainly in an effort to fulfill her life’s work on basic human rights. From her formation of a baby sitting brigade at age 14 to go into inner city Chicago to care for immigrant worker’s children to her Vital Voicesinitiativefor women in third world countries, the passion and dedication she has shone is undeniable but minimized by her opponents and the press. Women are being sexually, emotionally and physically abused every day in this country and around the world. Where is the outrage? If not Hillary, what women will ever be good enough?
Cited by many world health organizations is a simply fact: the number one way to decrease poverty and disease in the world is to liberate and educate women. Read the rest...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A Small Bit of Justice
Libby Loses Law License: "WASHINGTON (AP) - Former top White House aide I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby has been barred from practicing law in the nation's capital following his perjury conviction in the case of a CIA operative's leaked identity.
The disbarment order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was issued Thursday. The appeals court said that when a lawyer 'is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory...'"
The disbarment order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was issued Thursday. The appeals court said that when a lawyer 'is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory...'"
Marsh On Clinton's Schedule
Democrat Taylor Marsh Broadcasts Live Talk Radio and Blogs Politics: "...As I said yesterday, it's impossible to go through 11,000 pages, so I requested highlights from the Clinton camp on some of the most prominent moments of Hillary Clinton's actitivites as First Lady that had to do with foreign policy only, which ABC News found unimportant. They do not include ABC News's Ken Starr fetish as the most important moment, which was once again meant to reduce Hillary Clinton's stature as a professional politician, leader and potential commander in chief to a wronged woman. It's pathetic journalism on ABC News's part, which adds nothing pertinent we need to know about the first viable female candidate running for president. We all know the details, so we certainly don't need to relive it through Ross's history lesson..."
Poll News
Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.: "Looking down the road to May 13, Senator Hillary Clinton holds a huge lead over Senator Barack Obama in the West Virginia Presidential Primary. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows that Clinton attracts 55% of the Likely Democratic Primary Voters while Obama is supported by 27%. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure..."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
McCain Misspokeness Ignored
Quoted from http://mediamatters.org/:
Memo to the media: McCain's
Al Qaeda-Iran gaffe not his first
Some in the media have echoed the McCain campaign's assertion that he simply "misspoke" when he said at a March 18 press conference that Iranian operatives are "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back." In fact, McCain made the misstatement twice during the press conference, and he had made it the day before on Hugh Hewitt's radio show. Read More...
Someone Told Us
Well, uh, not me, but some people.
A Great Reckoning : NO QUARTER: "Such is the state of the coverage of Campaign 2008, with its fact-free “analysis”, that at times it becomes necessary to state the obvious.
We told you so..."
A Great Reckoning : NO QUARTER: "Such is the state of the coverage of Campaign 2008, with its fact-free “analysis”, that at times it becomes necessary to state the obvious.
We told you so..."
No Paul For John
Quoted from http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/19/ron-paul-supporters-wont-vote-for-mccain/:
Firedoglake » Ron Paul Supporters Won’t Vote For McCain
John McCain's fundraising woes aren't likely to be solved with the help of Ron Paul supporters, who donated so much money to Paul's campaign. McCain's attempts to neutralize Paul by backing an insurgent primary opponent against him failed, and Paul doesn't seem inclined to lead his faithful into the McCain corral, according to the Moonie Times. ..
Bats A'Flutter In The Belfry
Quoted from http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2008/03/18/less-talk-more-rope/:
...And Stanley Kurtz thinks Obama ain't shed the taint:
Far from pulling a Hubert Humphrey or a Tony Blair and casting the radical left out of the party, Obama seems to see his job as getting the rest of the country to adopt a stance of relative complacency toward the most egregious sorts of anti-Americanism–all under the guise of achieving national unity. The real precedent here is Jimmy Carter sitting next to Michael Moore at the Democratic National Convention. Does Carter endorse everything Michael Moore says? I doubt it. If pressed, would Carter in fact condemn some of what Moore has said? Most likely. But in the end, Carter stood with Moore and put an acceptable face on what should in fact be considered unacceptable. Of course, even that doesn’t begin to compare to Obama’s decades-long association with Wright, and his decision, for years, to place Wright at the core of his political identity.
I too remember the success that former President Humphrey had went he cast out the DFH's. Those eight years of Humphreyism were awesome....
Michael Moore and Jimmy Carter? Someone's gonna have to explain the comparison to me 'cause I just don't get it.
More Delegate Shennanigans
Latecomers get more delegate sway - The Boston Globe: "WASHINGTON - South Dakota has fewer residents than Delaware, but gets the same number of delegates to the Democratic Party convention. Pennsylvania is smaller than Illinois, but will have more Democratic delegates. North Carolina is barely bigger than New Jersey, but the state will have significantly more representatives at the convention..."
I'm from Western North Carolina and I don't like this. There is far too much rewarding and punishing going on in this primary. Screwing Florida and Michigan is bad enough but now we start having extra delegates awarded-- for what reason? Is this supposed to balm for Florida and Michigan or alms for the Old North State and Pennsylvania?
I'm from Western North Carolina and I don't like this. There is far too much rewarding and punishing going on in this primary. Screwing Florida and Michigan is bad enough but now we start having extra delegates awarded-- for what reason? Is this supposed to balm for Florida and Michigan or alms for the Old North State and Pennsylvania?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
St. Clueless the Confused
The Raw Story | Lieberman lends McCain an assist after gaffe in Jordan: "'...He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda,' Cameron W. Barr and Michael D. Shear note. 'In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq.'
After McCain said it was 'common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran,' the post reports 'Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear,' leading McCain to add: 'I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda...'"
After McCain said it was 'common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran,' the post reports 'Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear,' leading McCain to add: 'I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda...'"
On Corporate Welfare
Quoted from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031702154.html?hpid=opinionsbox1:
E. J. Dionne Jr. - The Street on Welfare - washingtonpost.com
Never do I want to hear again from my conservative friends about how brilliant capitalists are, how much they deserve their seven-figure salaries and how government should keep its hands off the private economy.
The Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. They are desperate to be bailed out by government from their own incompetence, and from the deregulatory regime for which they lobbied so hard. They have lost "confidence" in each other, you see, because none of these oh-so-wise captains of the universe have any idea what kinds of devalued securities sit in one another's portfolios...
About Those Blogwars
Discourse in the Prorgressive Political Blogoshphere...
It's not as bad as you think.
From Florida Dems
From a memo from the Florida Democratic Party:
Florida Dems: We Will Not Revote - Politics on The Huffington Post: "...This doesn't mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters. It means that a solution will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April.
When this committee stripped us of 100% of our delegates last year, some members summed up their reasoning by saying, 'The rules are the rules.' Unfortunately, the rules did not apply to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina when they, too, violated the DNC calendar by moving from their assigned dates.
As the late great Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, 'We must adjust our ideas to the facts of today... Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are...'"
Florida Dems: We Will Not Revote - Politics on The Huffington Post: "...This doesn't mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters. It means that a solution will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April.
When this committee stripped us of 100% of our delegates last year, some members summed up their reasoning by saying, 'The rules are the rules.' Unfortunately, the rules did not apply to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina when they, too, violated the DNC calendar by moving from their assigned dates.
As the late great Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, 'We must adjust our ideas to the facts of today... Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are...'"
Monday, March 17, 2008
More Missing Blondes Tales
Chris Kelly: Missing Sex Money Mystery Blonde: Day 26 - Politics on The Huffington Post: "...Eliot Spitzer's hooker has a song and we still haven't even heard John McCain's lobbyist speak. What gives?
How the hell did someone named Vicki Iseman become the only American since 9/11 entitled to privacy? This isn't about sex with John McCain. I don't want to hear the details. (Sweet merciful mother of God, I don't want to hear the details.) I just want to know she's alive..."
How the hell did someone named Vicki Iseman become the only American since 9/11 entitled to privacy? This isn't about sex with John McCain. I don't want to hear the details. (Sweet merciful mother of God, I don't want to hear the details.) I just want to know she's alive..."
Free Rides
Quoted from http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/17/where-was-fox-wallace-on-the-mccainhagee-endorsement/:
Crooks and Liars » Where was FOX & Wallace on the McCain/Hagee endorsement?
Chris Wallace was outraged today over Obama’s pastor remarks and I think it’s very fair to raise the issue.
I did a Google search on Chris Wallace/John Hagee to see if he ever mentioned his name on Fox News Sunday and guess what? I didn’t find a mention anywhere of this controversial—anti-Catholic—McCain endorsement. In fact, I found only one post on the FOX News website which was a video of McCain saying that he didn’t have to agree with everything someone says who supports him. We know there was only a brief spot on CNN and MSNBC pretty much stayed away from it completely outside of KO. (Tweety was silent)
So, only as a media question: Why no mention of McCain and the barrage on Obama? Shouldn’t they both be held to the same standard of coverage? How would Hillary have been covered by Chris Wallace if a similar story hit the news?
Some commenters at this thread believe Sen. Clinton has been given a free ride by the media and only Sen. Obama has received critical press review.
KosKotting
Jon Swift
"...Daily Kos founder and President for Life Markos Moulitsas responded with characteristic sensitivity to her concerns. "First, these people should read up on the definition of 'strike.' What they're doing is a 'boycott.'" He said. What Markos was saying, I think, is that not only are supporters of Clinton traitors to the liberal cause, they are incredibly stupid as well. They have been posting on his site for free for all of this time while Markos has been raking in money and not sharing one cent of it with them, which certainly cannot be characterized as an employer-employee relationship as anyone who has taken an Economics 101 class and is not a dunderheaded Clinton supporter would know. Although Markos suggested that the word "boycott" would be more appropriate than "strike," I think the word he was looking for was "slave revolt," since "slave" is a much more appropriate term for someone who works for no pay while the plantation owner enriches himself. The word "slave," however, has certain unfortunate racial connotations that he probably felt it would be best not to raise, so he went with the word "boycott" instead..."
"...Daily Kos founder and President for Life Markos Moulitsas responded with characteristic sensitivity to her concerns. "First, these people should read up on the definition of 'strike.' What they're doing is a 'boycott.'" He said. What Markos was saying, I think, is that not only are supporters of Clinton traitors to the liberal cause, they are incredibly stupid as well. They have been posting on his site for free for all of this time while Markos has been raking in money and not sharing one cent of it with them, which certainly cannot be characterized as an employer-employee relationship as anyone who has taken an Economics 101 class and is not a dunderheaded Clinton supporter would know. Although Markos suggested that the word "boycott" would be more appropriate than "strike," I think the word he was looking for was "slave revolt," since "slave" is a much more appropriate term for someone who works for no pay while the plantation owner enriches himself. The word "slave," however, has certain unfortunate racial connotations that he probably felt it would be best not to raise, so he went with the word "boycott" instead..."
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Lawless Bush
The Intelligence Cover-Up - New York Times: "..Mr. Bush wanted the House to approve the Senate’s version of the bill, which includes Mr. Bush’s amnesty and does not do nearly as good a job of preserving Americans’ rights. We were glad the House ignored his bluster. If the Senate cannot summon the courage and good sense to follow suit, there is no rush to pass a law.
The president will continue to claim the country is in grave danger over this issue, but it is not. The real danger is for Mr. Bush. A good law — like the House bill — would allow Americans to finally see the breathtaking extent of his lawless behavior."
NYT--better late than never, I guess.
The president will continue to claim the country is in grave danger over this issue, but it is not. The real danger is for Mr. Bush. A good law — like the House bill — would allow Americans to finally see the breathtaking extent of his lawless behavior."
NYT--better late than never, I guess.
Johnson Flogs Brazile
From http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/03/16/donna-brazile-is-lying-about-wrights-moderateness/:
Donna Brazile is lying about Wright’s moderateness : NO QUARTER
"Donna Brazile said on This Week that Jeremiah Wright is a moderate among black ministers. He is not. And Barack Obama has known this the whole time he has known Reverend Wright. Wright was so radical that he could not get a job at any Baptist Church..."
The YouTube above is part of Johnson's point.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Right Wing Pundit Roast
Not work safe, but mucho fun: I Am TRex » Blog Archive » Another One Bites the Dust, Hey-Hey!
O'Drip, Drip, Drip
Democrat Taylor Marsh Broadcasts Live Talk Radio and Blogs Politics
Obama has finally opened up to Chicago reporters. Big of him, really. Why he didn't do it earlier is a lesson in political damage control 101, if you ask me. (Here's the pdf; the audio is at Rezko Watch.) Jeralyn has more. Admitting that all the previous numbers he gave on Rezko contributions were simply a tease. Barack unloads a new figure.
Iowa Edwards Delegates
Quoted from http://www.talkleft.com/:
TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime
The Iowa County Assemblies are today. The 99 counties will select delegates to the state convention.
The pledged delegates from the caucuses are allowed to change their mind. In addition, it's unknown what John Edwards' delegates will decide to do: stay with Edwards as his Iowa campaign heads are urging or switch to Obama or Hillary.
Obama has been pitching Edwards' delegates in Iowa for two weeks. Hillary began this week.
Hold firm. Stay with Edwards. The convention is far ahead. Things change. Stuff happens.
Straw Clutching 101
If it's HuffPo it must be...
Revealed: 1992 Doonesbury Cartoon Showing Media In The Tank For Clintons - Media on The Huffington Post: "The New York Observer's Azi Paybarah posts a reader tip of a Doonesbury cartoon from a time when Bill Clinton was a 'rock star' candidate of his own. The cartoon, seen below, calls to mind the same claims lobbied against the media during the 2008 campaign — namely, that journalists are 'in the tank' for Barack Obama..."
Revealed: 1992 Doonesbury Cartoon Showing Media In The Tank For Clintons - Media on The Huffington Post: "The New York Observer's Azi Paybarah posts a reader tip of a Doonesbury cartoon from a time when Bill Clinton was a 'rock star' candidate of his own. The cartoon, seen below, calls to mind the same claims lobbied against the media during the 2008 campaign — namely, that journalists are 'in the tank' for Barack Obama..."
Friday, March 14, 2008
Put Your Gag Reflex On Hold
Bush "Envious" Of Soldiers Serving "Romantic" Mission In Afghanistan - Politics on The Huffington Post
President Bush let his inner adventurer out while discussing the state of the war in Afghanistan with military and civilian personnel. While those in Afghanistan detailed the logistical and diplomatic problems via teleconference, the President took a much more whimsical approach to their mission. Via Reuters:
"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said.
"If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed." "It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bad Times In GOPer House
NRCC Treasurer Under Scrutiny Was Thought of as 'Gold Standard': ..."'The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf,' said retiring Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), who chaired the NRCC for four years earlier this decade..."
Veep Mitt Redux
I think I got here first.
Quoted from http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/13/hes-baaaaccckkk-mitt-says-hed-be-honored-to-be-veep/:
Crooks and Liars » He’s Baaaaccckkk! Mitt Says He’d Be “Honored” To Be Veep
Mitt Romney declared last night that he would jump at the chance to be vice president if Republican John McCain offered the number two slot.
“I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to serve as the vice presidential nominee, myself included,” Romney said on Fox News Channel.
Oy. As Fred Barnes says, Not Bloody Likely
The WSJ Calls Wolf
Obama and the Race Card - WSJ.com
"...Democrats have repeatedly touted the diversity of their party's White House hopefuls. And it is true that a Clinton or Obama Presidency would make gender or racial history. Americans of all backgrounds can take satisfaction in watching the country field its first black Presidential candidate with a chance to win. But voters also want their would-be Presidents properly vetted, by the media and by each other. To that end Mr. Obama would do better to focus more on answering his political critics with specifics and less on questioning their motives by crying wolf on race."
"...Democrats have repeatedly touted the diversity of their party's White House hopefuls. And it is true that a Clinton or Obama Presidency would make gender or racial history. Americans of all backgrounds can take satisfaction in watching the country field its first black Presidential candidate with a chance to win. But voters also want their would-be Presidents properly vetted, by the media and by each other. To that end Mr. Obama would do better to focus more on answering his political critics with specifics and less on questioning their motives by crying wolf on race."
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Merit Badges For Ferraro
Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Don't Fire Geraldine Ferraro, Pin a Merit Badge on Her for Having the Guts to Tell the Truth - Politics on The Huffington Post: "Fire former Democratic VP candidate and Hillary Clinton advisor Geraldine Ferraro? She ought to get a merit badge pinned on her for having the guts to tell the truth. Ferraro got it right on both counts when she said that race has made a difference with Barack Obama. He has gotten a virtual free ride from much of the media. His paper thin voting record, lack of experience, zig zag stances on foreign policy issues, Republican lite positions on health care and the sub prime housing crisis, repeated subtle going negative against Hillary Clinton while giving himself a plausible deniability out and insuring that Clinton gets dumped on when she hits back has been blatantly obvious. The media and much of the public have kept hands off him in part out of sheer terror of being branded racist and in part out of hatred for Clinton. And that's the other thing that Ferraro got right. She flatly called the media sexist and said that many Americans, she really said America, has a huge problem with a woman running for president..."
Whoa-ho. Testify, brother. I bet he gets roasted for his audacity. (Haven't checked the comment thread yet but odds are...)
Whoa-ho. Testify, brother. I bet he gets roasted for his audacity. (Haven't checked the comment thread yet but odds are...)
Swift Advises Spitzer
Jon Swift: What Eliot Spitzer Should Say To Save His Career
"...While I cannot deny the glee I feel that a holier-than-thou Democrat who is supporting Hillary Clinton has been hoist on his own petard, I cannot in good conscience say that Spitzer should resign, while Vitter, whose seat would be filled with a Democrat if he quit, should not. I am not a hypocrite when it comes to hypocrisy.
Instead of resigning, Spitzer should admit that, like many American men, he is a whoremonger-American, and while that may not be a good thing, it is better than the alternative. Why should his career be ruined when many other politicians have survived cheating on their wives only because he paid a professional instead of sullying the reputation of a decent woman?..."
Click the link and read the whole post. It is worth it.
"...While I cannot deny the glee I feel that a holier-than-thou Democrat who is supporting Hillary Clinton has been hoist on his own petard, I cannot in good conscience say that Spitzer should resign, while Vitter, whose seat would be filled with a Democrat if he quit, should not. I am not a hypocrite when it comes to hypocrisy.
Instead of resigning, Spitzer should admit that, like many American men, he is a whoremonger-American, and while that may not be a good thing, it is better than the alternative. Why should his career be ruined when many other politicians have survived cheating on their wives only because he paid a professional instead of sullying the reputation of a decent woman?..."
Click the link and read the whole post. It is worth it.
Why Pelosi Pouts
The Pelosi-Clinton Chasm « The Confluence
"...Another theory: If Pelosi is backing Obama, and there seems to be quite a few links out there where she CLEARLY doesn’t like Clinton, could it be something as simple as getting credit for ending the war? If she backs the winning candidate, he can always come back and work with her to get the right legislation passed to end it. But if she backs Obama and *Clinton* wins, it’s Hillary that gets the glory, not Pelosi. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Obama is more than just tofu for the voters. He’s tofu to the frustrated party leaders who will have a person they can strongly influence. With Hillary, they won’t have that opportunity. Hillary has a strong political personality but Obama is still a tabula rasa who acquired his connections and coalitions as a gift. He didn’t make them on his own so he is beholden to them. They will threaten to abandon him the minute he doesn’t toe the line. Ahhhhh, it’s all starting to make sense now."
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Lonely, Lonely
Well, I never was very popular.
Quoted from http://tomwatson.typepad.com/tom_watson/2008/03/the-few-the-pro.html:
Tom Watson: The Few, the Proud...the Clinton Bloggers
To be a Clinton blogger in the progressive blogosphere is to be hated, shunned, passed without notice in the street. We sit home on Friday nights, cursing at Chris Matthews and being censored by Al Giordano for commenting too often in a field of swaying Obama supplication. We're not welcome at all the best dKos parties - if we show up, we're cursed with the universal epithet of those who challenge the Obama hegemony: "troll," they call us. Sometimes "f'ing troll." We're Rovian in our embrace of the monster, closet Bush backers and much worse - Lieberman types! Oh, the pain. The pure pain. I can't stand it. Makes me want to quit, embrace that messianic goodness, and stand down - for the sake of the party, of course - from any pursuit of a Clinton presidency.
Or perhaps...not. Looking over the (all-too-short) lineup of Clinton bloggers is enough to stiffen any political spine. We don't have numbers, but we do have quality. And with seven weeks to go till Pennsylvania, it's worth a little time to look around the room. There's Taylor Marsh, of course - unapologetic, in your face, deeply annoying to those who decry "the Clintons." Why, her very name launches vast armadas of angry commenters, her very name has become almost synonymous with hard-fisted Clinton blogging. We like her out front, in other words.
Flogging Al
EENR Progressive Blog:: CEI: Truthiness, rather than truth, to destroy the future
"The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is launching a national advertising campaign attacking Al Gore. And, via the attacks on Gore, seeking to undermine a growing understanding by Americans that we must act in face of global warming or face quite serious consequences.
"The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is launching a national advertising campaign attacking Al Gore. And, via the attacks on Gore, seeking to undermine a growing understanding by Americans that we must act in face of global warming or face quite serious consequences.
CEI is focusing on attacking the messenger, rather than the message, since it (and other deniers living in the Black Hole of Denial) are on the retreat when it comes to Global Warming as their message flies in face of the reality staring us / the US in our faces..."
Monday, March 10, 2008
McCain's Boy?
Muckraked » Blog Archive » Turning the Page: ‘The Man Who Pushed America to War’
"...But the full story of one key player, Ahmad Chalabi, has yet to be told.
"...But the full story of one key player, Ahmad Chalabi, has yet to be told.
The legendary conman and disgraced war cheerleader gets his due in Aram Roston’s “The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi.”
Among the revelations:
- One of his key backers has been John McCain, who was one of the first patrons of Chalabi’s grand-sounding International Committee for a Free Iraq when it was founded in 1991. McCain was Chalabi’s favored candidate in the 2000 election since Chalabi knew that he would be able to free up the $97 million in military aid plus millions pushed through in Congress and earmarked for Chalabi’s exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, but held up by the Clinton State Department..."
On The Four State Pledge
Revisiting the Four State Pledge on MI/FL Promises - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime: "Judging from the comments the Obama supporters are leaving on TalkLeft, it appears there's a fundamental misunderstanding on what the candidates promised and didn't promise regarding the outcomes of the Florida and Michigan primaries.
Here's the four state pledge (pdf).
It says nothing about which delegates will count or not count in Florida and Michigan. It says nothing about whether a state's primary will count or not.
The candidates merely pledged not to campaign in any states holding a primary or caucus before Super Tuesday, other than Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina..."
Here's the four state pledge (pdf).
It says nothing about which delegates will count or not count in Florida and Michigan. It says nothing about whether a state's primary will count or not.
The candidates merely pledged not to campaign in any states holding a primary or caucus before Super Tuesday, other than Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina..."
Sunday, March 09, 2008
On Whining
Quoted from http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/blogs/wolcott/2008/03/look-i-understa.html:
James Wolcott's Blog: The Sorrow and the Pity Party: Wolcott's Blog: vanityfair.com
Look, I understand the knocks against Hillary Clinton, truly I do. There are no flaming arrows fired her way that I haven't seen traverse the air before, no bill of indictment drawn up containing charges with which I'm unfamiliar. Reciting her sins and liabilities has become a familiar refrain, but if it's the Gregorian chant you live by, if you find Hillary Clinton such an insupportable choice for the Democratic nomination that you prefer to suckle your pride and idealism rather than soil your conscience should she be at the top of the ticket, fine, have fun with that. But, please, I beg of thee, could you at least spare the rest of us your longwinded, preeny, pious dirges?...
What Are You Gonna Do Now?
Atomic Romance: His Adventure Is Over: R.I.P. Gary Gygax: "As some of you have heard by now, Gary Gygax, the D&D guru, has died..." If you don't get the post title, then you won't get how sad this really makes me.
Go,Ladies,Go!
Democrat Taylor Marsh Broadcasts Live Talk Radio and Blogs Politics: "...Everyone has been underestimating the power behind Clinton's female vote. Progressive men refuse to cover it seriously. We've seen some of it, but nothing compared to what could be unleashed in the general election. I don't need anyone to tell me that the female vote is a secret weapon for Hillary if she's the Democratic nominee. Put that together with Hispanics and lunch bucket Democrats, including blue collar men like my husband, and no one can beat her. Besides, I even think quite a few Republican women will crossover for the chance to vote for the first female president in United States history. There's nothing comparable to what she brings. The primaries are just the beginning."
Saturday, March 08, 2008
About That Racist Video...
Here's an answer to the Obama charge that Clinton was manipulating a video to make Obama look... different.
From http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/youtube_is_racist:
...Kevin Drum at the Washington Monthly has a must-read explanation of why the “Hillary is a racist who will stop at nothing!” meme completely misses the real culprit: the sinister forces of YouTube compression.
Over the past few days there’s been a huge fracas over accusations that Hillary Clinton’s campaign deliberately darkened Barack Obama’s face in an ad they ran in Texas. It started with a post over at Daily Kos on Tuesday and has been spread far and wide since then.
The problem is that it’s impossible to compare color tones using YouTube clips because their compression process doesn’t preserve color fidelity. However, FactCheck.org got hold of a high-quality recording of the ad as it appeared on station KCEN in Waco, Texas, and then compared it to MSNBC’s streaming version of the debate from which the clip was taken… In the ad version, Obama’s face has been desaturated (i.e., there’s less color tone) but it doesn’t look any darker than the original. Nor has his face been widened to make Obama’s nose more prominent, as the original posters also suggested. That was yet another YouTube artifact.
Now, about that O'pology for the accusation...
The Perfect McCain
Crooks and Liars » CNN praises Ms. McCain for being ‘perfect’
"...Not to be picky, but this is incomplete. John McCain was, as a factual matter, still married and living with his wife in 1979 while, according to The New York Times, “aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich.” (McCain then divorced his wife, who had raised their three children while he was imprisoned in Vietnam, and launched his political career with his new wife’s family money.)
"...Not to be picky, but this is incomplete. John McCain was, as a factual matter, still married and living with his wife in 1979 while, according to The New York Times, “aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich.” (McCain then divorced his wife, who had raised their three children while he was imprisoned in Vietnam, and launched his political career with his new wife’s family money.)
Now, one can certainly argue that McCain’s infidelity is irrelevant. One could also argue that McCain’s adulterous relationship with the woman who ultimately became his second wife is none of the voters’ business. But if CNN is going to do a report on this, while touting Ms. McCain’s “perfection,” the network should at least give the public the whole story..."
Friday, March 07, 2008
KO KOing Self?
Quoted from http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/7/10118/81855:
MyDD :: Can Keith Olbermann even repair his reputation?
Lastnight Keith Olbermann repeated a false story, again. Twisting statements Hillary Clinton has made during this campaign, that we know what the other party will throw at the Democrats in the General Election, and she is best qualified to run against McCain's claim of experience and foregin policy. Hillary has been stating this. But Keith Olbermann decided lastweek to be the Obama campaign's media strategist in distorting her comments that somehow she was praising John McCain over another Democrat, Obama. When she said: March 1 Dallas,
"I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say,” she said. “He’s never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience.Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002."
The same argument she has been making. But Keith Olbermann decided to take a distorted comment from a blogger and make a story out of it. The "Hillary: McCain would be better than Obama" making a story and lie, not with comments Hillary made, but their own interpretations of the above comments. Did Keith get too much backlash and instead of admitting a mistake, he repeated it, only worse? Lastnight, another piece of the Reality World died. Keith Olbermann brings up the same piece of news, only this time he shows the video clip of Hillary saying this and then procedes to distort and color the actual news and facts of what was said. He went on to call her the new Lieberman, posting up her name "McClinton", trying to say she would favor McCain over Obama, when that is not at all what was being discussed. And sadly, HE KNOWS THAT. Funny, the only person I know who would want to be compared to Joe Lierberman, would probably be the one who called him his "MENTOR", when Senator Obama himself endorsed Joe Lieberman over Democratic Primary Challenger Ned Lamont, and gave that glowing praise at their annual Democratic Party dinner in Connecticut, in which Ned Lamont was also in attendance. But on top of that, Keith brought on another one of those guests that act as an Obama sympathizer, Richard Wolfe. He embellished on Keith's comments and proceded to paint Hillary as being Lieberman like with claims and even said, "look, she's for Free Trade". Accusations and lies, is this what Countdown has become? If even we can't get Keith Olbermann to apolgize for his very colored words and claims, because he began his rant with a self declared immunity "this may be Hyperbole", but as Keith has said, he is responsible for his guests, and even though Cable is not considered "public airwaves", he used to care about facts. Will he make amends? Will he correct the record of comments made by Richard Wolfe? ...
Winning and Losing
Quoted from http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/3/7/123324/7344:
...One thing I doubt you will hear the Obama campaign claim is that it "won" Texas, as this top reccomended dkos diary does. Why? Because, if in fact Obama garnered more delegates in Texas after losing the popular vote, the whole argument of the pledged delegates reflecting the "will of the people" is utterly exposed as a sham. The will of the people is expressed in the votes in the primary in Texas. Clinton won...
Caucus Condemned
Quoted from http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/2008/03/nobody-asked-me-but.html:
Simply Left Behind: Nobody Asked Me, But...: The Non-Rapturist's Guide To The Galaxy
2) Someone will have to explain to me how caucuses are valid means of selecting a candidate, since they favor the wealthy and discourage the working classes. We've heard from the folks who claim the election was stolen in Ohio since people had to stand in line for hours to vote, choosing between voting (presumably for Kerry) and their jobs. Well, doesn't spending two hours in the middle of the working week constitute a similar burden? Haven't we had enough plutocractic decisions made for us? Can Obama truly represent the least among us if he's been chosen by the elites? How patrician!
Arresting Evil
Vermont towns vote to arrest Bush and Cheney | Oddly Enough | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a measure that would instruct police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for 'crimes against our Constitution,' local media reported..."
Firing Power
Quoted from http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/power-by-tristero-absolutely-power.html:
Power
by tristero
Absolutely, Power should be fired. Save that crap for Republicans, who deserve it.
And Josh is absolutely right. Obama's in a bind over this and the Clinton camp is not only within their rights to push, but doing the country a favor. How it plays out will provide a good insight into how Obama - meaning the man himself as well as his closest advisers - might react when the Republicans start turning the screws, which - despite Obama's sincerest desires for bipartisanship - the Republicans will do with a monstrous viciousness that will make Whitewater look like Walden Pond.
And if Obama can keep Power without firing her and also defuse these remarks, well, that would be some very impressive politicking ...
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