The First Fax

Apparently, this question was interesting to me a couple of years ago:

What did the first person who owned a fax machine do with it?

WTF Obama?!?

What the fuck has gotten into Obama? His campaign is turning into one big massive mistake right before our very eyes. General Wes Clark rightfully says that McCain's military service and experience as a POW does not necessarily qualify him for being president, and that it also does not serve as a reliable indicator of good judgment. There was no attack on McCain, nor on his service, but to hear the right-wingnuts and media blowhards tell it, Clark might has well have pissed on McCain's medals.

But then the Obama campaign has to come running to McCain's defense? Why? There was no attack to defend against.

"As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark," said Obama campaign spokeman Bill Burton.

I'm already done donating and volunteering because of the whole FISA/telco amnesty flip-flop, but Obama is dangerously close to losing my vote outright. If they keep up this kind of wussy behavior and allow themselves to be led around by the nose by the media and the McCain campaign, then Obama can go fuck himself.

Animal Farm Friday

In honor of our current rising police state, I think it is fitting to remember George Orwell's Animal Farm. So to that end, I'm introducing Animal Farm Fridays

While this whole FISA issue is probably more Big Brother, there's no weekday that works with "B", and certainly there's a limit on amusing authoritarian media. But there are tons of funny animal videos on YouTube, or photos on Flickr, and the goal here is to throw a humorous spin on such an un-funny issue.

What better way to introduce this weekly homage to Eric Arthur Blair (a.k.a. Geroge Orwell) and his prescient vision of life under a totalitarian police state than with militant chickens bringing the law to the farm.

nice Friday send-off for George

Carlin, that is. Some classics from the genius posted here for your reading pleasure.

Best of the bunch:

The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, Y'know, I want to set those people over there on fire but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.

Lock and load

As much as I think there will be a shockingly dramatic increase in handgun violence in the next few years, and as pissed off as I am that Scalia was the driver behind the SCOTUS ruling on the 2nd Amendment, I have to agree with Gene Robinson on this one:

I believe the Constitution is a living document that has to be seen in light of the times. I believe the Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, was right to infer an implicit right to privacy, even though no such thing is spelled out. I think the idea that the Founders' "original intent" should govern every interpretation of the Constitution is loony -- as if men who wrote with quill pens could somehow devise a blueprint for regulating the Internet.

But I also believe that if the Constitution says yes, you can't just blithely pretend it says no. Yesterday's decision appears to leave room for laws that place some restrictions on gun ownership but still observe the Second Amendment's guarantee. If not, then the way to fix the Constitution is to amend it -- not ignore it.

In fact, I agree completely with everything he said in this post.

Lieberman Must GO!

Sign the petition!

Keith Olbermann, Glenn Greenwald Feud Over FISA

About Keith Olbermann
I think Keith and Glenn are both right in different ways. Per KO's comment, I'll follow John Dean on this one, and wholeheartedly agree that he is worth 25 GGs and 26 KOs. I am as fuming mad at BO for this triangulation, to the point of considering not donating or volunteering as I have in the past, but if there is any truth to the notion that the "soft on terror" attacks are trumped by this move, and that the possibility for criminal prosecution is still on the table, then BO's change in position makes sense. I don't know enough about Constitutional law to have a solid understanding of this, and I believe GG comes up short on this as well. But John Dean certainly knows more about Constitutional law than just about anyone alive, so I'd defer to his judgment on this.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Correction:
In this original post, I asserted that Glenn Greenwald comes up short on the Constitutional law front. I am completely incorrect on that, and would like for the record to say that Glenn does indeed know quite a lot about Constitutional law. I had meant to also include Keith Olbermann in that regard, and I will stand by the assertion that he does not know much about Constitutional law. I also want to be clear that the point I was trying to make was that John Dean does indeed know more about Constitutional law than both of them combined, and I was attempting to laud Mr. Dean and not necessarily denegrate either Misters Greenwald or Olbermann.

FISA on hold until July

Good!

BANG!

SCOTUS - a la Scalia Alito, Roberts, Kennedy, and Thomas - just shot America in the foot. Better run out and get your guns, since the right-wingnuts are stocking up even more now.

How Obama lost my support

Dear Mr. Burton,

I am very saddened by this recent turn of position by Barack Obama on the matter of amnesty for the telecommunications violation of the law in their complicity with the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping orders.

These are your words, Mr. Burton:

"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

These are Senator Obama's words from last January:

"I strongly oppose retroactive immunity in the FISA bill.

Ever since 9/11, this Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand.

The FISA court works. The separation of power works. We can trace, track down and take out terrorists while ensuring that our actions are subject to vigorous oversight, and do not undermine the very laws and freedom that we are fighting to defend.

No one should get a free pass to violate the basic civil liberties of the American people - not the President of the United States, and not the telecommunications companies that fell in line with his warrantless surveillance program. We have to make clear the lines that cannot be crossed.

That is why I am co-sponsoring Senator Dodd's amendment to remove the immunity provision. Secrecy must not trump accountability. We must show our citizens – and set an example to the world – that laws cannot be ignored when it is inconvenient.

A grassroots movement of Americans has pushed this issue to the forefront. You have come together across this country. You have called upon our leaders to adhere to the Constitution. You have sent a message to the halls of power that the American people will not permit the abuse of power – and demanded that we reclaim our core values by restoring the rule of law.

It's time for Washington to hear your voices, and to act. I share your commitment to this cause, and will stand with you in the fights to come (emphasis mine)."

And again in February:

"We know it's time to time to restore our Constitution and the rule of law. This is an issue that was at the heart of Senator Dodd's candidacy, and I share his passion for restoring the balance between the security we demand and the civil liberties that we cherish. The American people must be able to trust that their president values principle over politics, and justice over unchecked power. I've been proud to stand with Senator Dodd in his fight against retroactive immunity for the telecommunications industry. Secrecy and special interests must not trump accountability . We must show our citizens – and set an example to the world – that laws cannot be ignored when it is inconvenient. Because in America – no one is above the law."(emphasis mine)

It is clear after his statement yesterday that he was either lying then, or he is lying now:

"My view on FISA has always been that the issue of the phone companies per se is not one that overrides the security interests of the American people."

I am not so naive as to think that Senator Obama would not shift his positions on important issues, all politicians do that. But on a matter of such grave importance as defending the Constitution, and holding accountable those who would harm it, there is no room for compromise.

As someone who volunteered to the campaign many, many hours and money I could ill afford to give up, all because I trusted that Barack Obama was the one true candidate who was different from all the rest, it is heartbreaking to see that he is indeed just like all the rest. The only change I see coming from Barack Obama now is a change in his attitude towards those of us who worked so hard to help him win the Democratic nomination. It is painfully clear to me that we were used up and are now being hung out to dry.

I can no longer volunteer my support, nor donate any more of my time or money to Obama's campaign. I cannot in good conscience support any candidate who could be so cravenly dishonest on such an important matter.

Take note of this, Mr. Burton: When someone who has been so committed to supporting Barack Obama withdraws that support over this FISA compromise issue, imagine what might happen with all of the undecided voters who are concerned about this issue.

Sincerely,
James "Jake" Barlow
MyBo: seejake

Serenity Lost: Obama And The Netroots

I don't quite understand how trampling the Constitution is a matter that only the netroots are upset about. It's abhorrent that most Americans don't seem bothered by this. Abhorrent, but understandable when you stop to consider the degree of ignorance and apathy in this country, as well as mass media complacency on matters of grave importance affecting this country. Most who know me think that I am an "Obamabot" - and I have traveled to red states to campaign for him. But I care a lot more about the Constitution than I do any single man, and if Obama is complicit in the success of the FISA "compromise", that will be a travesty that I cannot forgive. Two major points to consider: 1) Obama gave his word that he would do everything he could to oppose telco amnesty. If he breaks his word on such an important issue, then how can he be trusted? 2) If he allows for the trampling of the Constitution, then he has shown contempt for the very laws that serve as the bedrock of our nation. He would no more deserve to be president than Bush.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I will stop supporting Barack if he doesn't filibuster the FISA bill

Dear Mr. Burton,

My name is James Barlow, I was a precinct captain in CD-08, San Francisco, and I spent 5 days in Texas walking door to door and working the phones. I have also donated nearly $2000 to his campaign, and his is the first campaign I have ever worked for. But if Barack Obama does not filibuster Steny Hoyers FISA compromise, I will STOP SUPPORTING BARACK OBAMA. No more donations. No more volunteering for the campaign. No vote in the general election.

This is the real test of Barack Obama's claim to bring change to Washington. If he capitulates on this issue, I will absolutely have no way of trusting him anymore, and his message of change will be nothing but complete hogwash.

It is bad enough that Barack cut that radio ad for Bush Democrat John Barrow, when a much more deserving progressive Democrat could have benefited from his support. That Obama backed Barrow was reprehensible. Now, his support of the FISA compromise will be the deal breaker.

I am not acting out, nor am I venting my frustration. Hear this, Mr. Burton, and communicate it to Barack Obama: I WILL NOT SUPPORT, NOR VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA IF HE DOES NOT FILIBUSTER THE FISA BILL IF IT GRANTS AMNESTY TO TELECOMS.

Sincerely,

James Barlow
873 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-308-2488

Obama caved on FISA

That may have cost him my support.

More later.

UPDATE:

I am sickened by the capitulation of the Democrats in the House over amnesty for the telecoms for illegal wiretapping. Progressive Democrats have been showing repeatedly that we don't have to argue national security issues on Republican terms, and that we can win elections while standing up to them and arguing on our terms. Caving into the telecoms and to Bush on this important issue was one of the biggest disappointments since the authorization to use force against Saddam Hussein.

Barack Obama has been running his campaign on real change in Washington, and in what is decidedly his biggest test yet, he seems to be failing on that message. By supporting the House on this matter, Barack Obama is not demonstrating change whatsoever. He can talk until he's blue in the face about being against amnesty for telcos, but if he does not stand up against this FISA compromise, his words mean nothing. NOTHING.

As MoveOn.org reminds us, Obama promised to filibuster any bill that granted amnesty to the telecoms, so it is imperitive that he be held accountable to his words. He has said time and again that he is accountable to us, we who have poured our hearts, souls, time, and money into supporting him. He said he is not beholden to corporations and their lobbyists. Now is the time for him to honor his words and prove that he really is the candidate for change, and not just another two-faced, forked-tongue politician.

As someone who walked door to door, up and down hills in the pouring rain in SF, and spent five days in Texas on the phones and walking door to door in three precincts, and spent countless hours on the phones many more times, it pains me to say this: If Obama does not keep his word on such an important matter as upholding the values of our Consitution, then I am going to have a very hard time supporting him anymore.

Closing the 527 Is a Courageous Move

Eli (and everyone at MoveOn),

You are demonstrating once more why progressives are the true champions of America. By closing the 527 and focusing on support at the individual level, MoveOn continues to show real courage and leadership towards changing the political landscape. I am more proud than ever to be a member of this organization.

It is the very hard work that you and everyone at MoveOn have put into creating the foundation for online progressive activism that helped Al Gore propel his message of global warming, helped make Howard Dean a household name, helped Act Blue launch so many new progressive candidates, and made Barack Obama's historic campaign even possible. MoveOn's contribution to making America a better country cannot be overstated.

You make us all proud, and you have so much to be proud of. Thank you all for everything you do.

Sincerely,
Jake Barlow

Common People?

House Dems Sold Us Out!

Siding with the Republiscums and caving in to AT&T, Verizon, et al., House Democrats told all of us who elected them that our rights to privacy are less important than their right to spy on us. In other words, our representatives on Friday are going to tell us that we can take that Constitution of ours and shove it up our collective ass.

In doing so, they also violated their oaths of office. Each one of them swore to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. In my view, they have become enemies of the Republic, and it is time something be done about it.

Of course, there have obviously not been enough people pressuring them to not capitulate, so there will likely not be enough people interested in ousting these political cowards from office.

Nice work, people.

Where creative juice comes from

Obama 360

One helluva view!

My First Cavity Search

Speaking of cell phones and radiation

there's this...

Some Big Brother tech I could get behind

In theory, surveillance technology in public spaces is supposed to make us safer, but I'm still not a huge fan of CCTV on every corner. The Bush administration has proven how this kind of stuff can be abused. But this idea for tracking nuclear material passively through cell phones is really cool!

Researchers at Purdue University are working with the state of Indiana to develop a system that would use a network of cell phones to detect and track radiation to help prevent terrorist attacks with radiological "dirty bombs" and nuclear weapons.

Such a system could blanket the nation with millions of cell phones equipped with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material. Because cell phones already contain global positioning locators, the network of phones would serve as a tracking system, said physics professor Ephraim Fischbach.

Is home grown and hand sewn better?

In many ways, notably by the quote below, the writer of this post is a douchebag. But he makes a few somewhat sensible points about the locavore lifestyle.

"Deliciousness" is subjective. But one obvious point is that no one person can grow or produce all the things she would like to eat. As a kid who grew up on a small farm, I can tell you that after I had my fill of corn and asparagus and raspberries, all I really wanted was a Big Mac.

WTF? He could have picked a better burger. Big Macs suck. He could have made his point just as clearly by saying "cheeseburger," but in exposing his desire for one of the worst fast food inventions ever, he damn near discredits anything else he says.

Still, it's worth a read.

Know CHANGE!

Obama Moves DNC Operations to Chicago

This bodes extremely well for the party, and speaks powerfully as an example of change. Any argument that Obama would not be capable of any sort of real change just got weaker.

STUNNING SNAP!

The Supreme Court gives Bush a stunning SNAP! No, this is actually a bitch slap! Honestly, I am gob-smacked. I didn't think the court had it in them to actually stand up for our constitution. I must say, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of this Supreme Court. This is huge!

The justices, voting 5-4, said a 2006 law unconstitutionally stripped Guantanamo prisoners of the right to file so-called habeas corpus petitions. The majority, pointing to the six years that some detainees have spent in captivity, said a system of limited judicial review set up by Congress didn't adequately protect inmate rights.

"The costs of delay can no longer be borne by those who are held in custody,'' Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The detainees in these cases are entitled to a prompt habeas corpus hearing.''

All said, I kind of fantasized that a future President would have declared Bush and Cheney enemy combatants and shipped them off-shore somewhere never to be heard from again. But I'll take a proactive stance on human rights even for our enemies over indulging fantasies of poetic justice wrought on the Bushies any day.

Tastes like chickenhawk

I gave $25 to get this on the air. So can you.

(h/t to Will)

Money Quote

Paul Rieckhoff from VoteVets.org on the bullshit issues Congress wastes time on while "Rome is burning."

"It's like a pilot crashing a plane because he was too busy giving all the passengers their complimentary peanuts."

I'm voting Republican because...

Harbinger?

You know Republiscums have got to be worried when even a poll on a Fox News website has Obama ahead of McCain. Out of nearly 30,000 votes, more than 70% think Obama will be the next president.

BREAKING NEWS: Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduces 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush

This is for real!

http://www.democrats.com/kucinich-introduces-35-articles-of-impeachment-against-george-w-bush

Call your representatives right now to show your support for Rep. Kucinich

ABSOLUTE MUST SEE!

This is long, but incredibly important. Please watch this video of the legendary journalist Bill Moyers addressing the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008.

Money Quote

"We now know that a neo-conservative is an arsonist who sets the house on fire, and six years later boasts that no one could put it out."

Bill Moyers

Monday SNAP!

Here's what taking the country back looks like:



Watch as one of Bill O's douche bag thugs - Porter Barry - masquerading as a journalist tries to ambush Bill Moyers, but ends up first getting pwned by Bill Moyer's then reverse ambushed by other true journalists.

Porter looked like he was going to cry! It's awesome that the entire world will get to see - unedited - Faux News getting manhandled like little bitches.

The case for Webb

I've been reading all of the pros and cons of Obama picking Jim Webb as his Vice President, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I don't say this because I believe that Webb can do a whole lot in securing the "white, hard-working" people of Appalachia for Obama, I don't think that's very realistic. Firstly, people simply do not vote for Vice Presidents, they simply accept them (what else could explain Dan Quayle?). More importantly, when racism is in your blood, it's hard to get out, and usually the only way it gets out of your blood is when you take your blood out. By that I mean is that you have to leave home and get exposed to different people and cultures that you've been never been exposed to from living in isolated rural areas. I'm not calling Appalachians racists in a derogatory sense, and perhaps racism isn't the right expression. Maybe it's something more along the lines of tribalism, something nearly all of us are plagued by. But the people in the Appalachia region by and large either do not like, nor do they trust, people of color.

Perhaps Appalachia is on my mind this morning because I just watched the premiere episode of the third season of 30 Days where Morgan Spurlock went back to his home state of West Virginia to spend 30 days in a coal mine. It made me think a lot about my maternal grandfather who was a coal miner in northern Alabama. It made me think of my mom's cousins who live in that area who I recently connected with again. It made me think of my sister and her family who are living there right now. These are all good people with their hearts in the right place, as long as the place in question is narrowly defined to not include people of color. With the exception of my sister, the rest of my family in northern Alabama are all racist. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are white supremacists in any way, but they just have little affection for people who aren't white. Even non-white pro ball players who they are big fans of are held in diminished regard, and are sometimes referred to by epithets such as "boy," and occasionally by the "n word." But this racism is not born from malice, so much as it comes from what they've been exposed to, or more likely what they've not been exposed to. The reason why my sister stands out as not being racist is because she got "her blood" out of there, and was able to experience much more of the world and was exposed to many different people from many different ethnicities, something my other family members have not had much of an opportunity to do.

I'm thinking more and more that the reason Jim Webb might be an ideal pick for Obama's VP is because of what they have both said on the topics of race. From Obama's amazing speech in Pennsylvania:

Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

And Jim Webb said recently:

Black America and Scots-Irish America are like tortured siblings. They both have long history and they both missed the boat when it came to the larger benefits that a lot of other people were able to receive. There's a saying in the Appalachian mountains that they say to one another, and it's, "if you're poor and white, you're out of sight." ...

If this cultural group could get at the same table as black America you could rechange [sic] populist American politics. Because they have so much in common in terms of what they need out of government.

With Webb as Obama's VP, that would be a huge symbol of these two ethnic groups coming together at the same table. Would it erase over a century of bad blood? No way. Would it make the people of Appalachia more open to non-whites? Not most of them.

What it would do is legitimize the concept of the shared suffering of these two groups, and move the discussion of the racial divide in America forward in a way that nothing else can.

Punditry SNAP!

What CHANGE looks like

Know it!

From the DNC:

"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well. Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests." - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean

FUCK THIS STUPID PRESIDENT AND ALL OF HIS SUPPORTERS!!!!

Senate Report: Bush Used Iraq Intel He Knew Was False

I hope these ass-clowns are tried for war crimes and other crimes against humanity, and are then meted with proper punishment.

*Apologies for such harsh language, but this is deserved. More than 4,000 US soldiers dead, thousands wounded and maimed, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead, trillions of dollars down the drain, and for what?

FOR WHAT?!?!?!?!

Hey Floridians for Obama

The general election has begun, and Florida is once again a battleground state. So it's time to do your part to help move this country forward, and dig us out from eight years of Bush's mess, and keep McCain from piling on four more years of the same crap.

Start here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/flhome

As soon as you can, get your support packs of buttons, stickers, and signs, t-shirts, and other swag, to show your support for the future of America. Volunteer to help register voters, canvass your neighborhoods, and make calls for the campaign.

It was people like you and me who made the difference in the primaries. It is people like us who will change America, and change Washington. One man can't do it alone, but thousands of us working together can do it. This is your opportunity to prove that THE government is OUR government.

Our time is NOW! Rise to the challenge!

(Please forward this to other Floridians)

YES WE DID!

We knew we could. We said YES WE CAN. And YES WE DID!

Another one for the record

I predicted the super-delegates would not show up today, but I was
wrong. And I am very glad that I was wrong.

Don't Cry For Me...

...Argentina America.

McCain-Clinton 08

"There's going to be a competition for many of Hillary Clinton's former supporters. I think many of those voters are going to consider supporting McCain. They see in him many of the same characteristics they saw in Hillary Clinton." Republiscum guv of MN, Tim Pawlenty

OBAMA WINS!!!

UPDATE:
As of 3:30 PM PST, only 11 delegates needed.

As of 2:20 PM PST, Obama has enough superdelegates to win. It is widely expected that Obama will easily capture 15 delegates in the two remaining primaries tonight, possibly 16 or 17. He has the promise of being endorsed by superdelegate Jimmy Carter after the polls close, and the elected leaders of Montana have declared they will support the winner of tonight's primary. Which means...

Barack Obama is the winner of the 2008 Democratic primary!

Unfortunately, though, the fat lady hasn't sung, and no bells have rung "ding dong, the witch is ..."

Will she bow out? NO!

NOPE. I called it.

I can see Obama making the argument that the best way to unite the country is to start by uniting the party, but that would be obvious and shallow. Putting Clinton on the ticket might create an image of unity, but there are too many voters who simply will not show up to vote if she is on the ticket, this one included.

If Obama caved in and added her to the ticket, how can he be perceived as someone who wouldn't cave to our enemies? If he can't stand up to Hillary, then who can he stand up to? He has painted her as the candidate of old politics, and he can't be the candidate of new politics if she's on the ticket. She brings nothing that plenty of other Democrats can't bring, and most likely without that notorious baggage. How would that be turning the page?

No, putting Clinton on the ticket is an endorsement of her nasty and repugnant style of politics that this country doesn't need. I'd be willing to wager that the thousands of Clintonuts who are voting with their vajayjays instead of their consciences can be let go and made up elsewhere. I'm also betting that any Dem behind Clinton on the ticket is probably just covering his or her ass in order to avoid a nasty 3am phone call from an angry red-faced Bill.

Military big opponent of national healthcare

Great comment on this interesting article:

Interesting that an American has to join the military to get the same sort of benefits everyone in Canada and western Europe gets simply for BEING A CITIZEN.

Predictions

I've said all along that the only thing the polls have been consistent about is being wrong. That said, Pablano has been pretty good with his predictions, calling IN and NC near perfectly when everyone else was WAY off, especially the big pollsters. But Pablano was way off in KY and OR.

While Kos got close in OR and KY, he seems out on a ledge with MT and SD. This time around, my guess is the Al Giordano is right on the money in both states.

Al Giordano:

Montana:
Obama: 58
Clinton: 42

South Dakota:
Obama: 53
Clinton: 47

More predictions here.

Firouz Naderi, Ph.D. NASA Scientist, Director of the Mars Exploration Program, and Iranian

(tip o'the chapeau to Kitten)

"...never turn to the dark side!"

The Empire Strikes Barack!

I can see it now. In her bid for the veep slot, Hillary declares the she is Barack Obama's father.

Will she bow out?

I want to go on the record for saying that I don't believe Clinton will concede. She may "suspend" her campaign, which means she won't be overtly campaigning, but she will not concede nor accept Obama as the party's nominee, despite his reaching the magic number on Tuesday night. If the supers don't come out by Tuesday night to push Obama to that number, I will damn well guarantee that she'll keep working behind the scenes to derail Obama's GE campaign, and try to influence the supers and other pledged delegates to switch on the floor in Denver. I am almost certain that she will not appeal to her supporters to get behind Obama, and she will not implore them to do anything  at all. Listen closely to her speech in NYC on Tuesday night that her campaign is already billing as a victory speech. Go quietly into that good night? Not Hillary.

Why do I believe this? Because for all of the times Hillary has been given some slack, or the benefit of the doubt, or the opportunity to be gracious, she's blown it and done exactly the opposite of what the pundits have expected.

After Iowa, she went to New Hampshire and cried. After NH, she went back to being a robot. After the debate before Ohio and Texas where she was so "honored" to be on the stage with Obama, the very next morning she was at first the shrill banshee wailing "Shame on you Barack Obama!" before she became the mocking clown exhorting the "the skies will open up" for Obama. Post-Super Tuesday, Clinton began running a GOP/Rove-style campaign against Obama, and there are no signs that she will stop. Just this weekend at the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting, the Clinton team avoided every opportunity to deal, negotiate, or compromise, and they rejected the Obama camps efforts to reach out. In the end, it was the RBC itself that had to reject Clinton. That ended with Clintonut Harold Ickes crying about reserving the right to appeal the matter on the convention floor, and another Clintonut, Lanny Davis, screaming angry, spittle-laden vitriols at a DNC member.

What reason do I have to believe that she'll concede, given that she never has? Why would anyone expect her to do the honorable thing when she never has?

A consumate Hillary supporter - Part 2

UPDATE:

From kossak altruista:

You, woman screaming into the cameras: you are old enough to remember the pre-Roe v. Wade days in America. Remeber coat hangers, Drano, women hurling themselves down steps, women dying and left unable to bear children from illegal botched abortions? Remember birth control outlawed? Remember the early 1970s, when a woman could not get a credit card or bank loan in her own name---when a woman needed an adult male co-signer's permission for them because we were deemed incompetent to manage our own financial affairs? Remember when sexual harassment and open sex discrimination were legal? Remember when we didn't have rape shield laws, when marital rape wasn't illegal? Remember when a woman being used as a punching bag by her husband had no recourse---had no earning power, no options, when the police she turned to often were abusers themselves and sympathized with the husband, when domestic violence shelters weren't even a twinkle in anyone's eye?

Sadly, people vote their emotions, and there's often little rationality to emotions. Unless these Clintonuts can be talked down from their ledges, they may actually do something as stupid as voting for McCain. Imagine how they'll feel two years into a McCain presidency.

Original post:

Hillary supporters must be so proud of themselves.

(hat tip to the always wonderful Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake)

Shirley Golub for CD-08

(For SF Bay Area voters)

If you are against the Iraq War, if you abhor torture, if you think Bush should have been impeached a long time ago, if you think the Democrats (especially Nancy Pelosi) have been spineless and have squandered their 2006 victories, please vote for Shirley Golub on June 3rd.

Shirley is running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, CD08). She has no chance in hell of winning against such a strong incumbent, but this is not about winning. This is about sending a message to Nancy Pelosi that it is time that she remembers where she is from. It is time Pelosi realigns herself with her constituents. It is time to hold Pelosi - and other Democrats by extension - accountable to progressive ideals.

If you haven't heard of Shirley, check out her website, www.shirley08.com. She is credible. She's been politically active since 2000, she's local, and she volunteers at the SPCA, so you know her heart is in the right place.

She's an Olbermann fan, has a bone with Comcast, and also has a good sense of humor:



When you vote on Tuesday, please cast a powerfully symbolic vote for Shirley.

Brer Barack

Bellows at HuffPo makes a strong case for the DNC and the Obama campaign walking into Brer Hillary's briar patch trap. No doubt tar babies were on his mind. But I'm not buying it, at least not the full account. Sure, his predictions seem accurate, but most of us paying attention expected the same thing. Given that all of what happened today was predictable by Bellows's measures, then I am confident the Obama camp had considered this also.

Bellows tries to push the point that Obama should have conceded everything, allowing Clinton to have her way, then being left with the option to appeal. Or said another way, Hillary can become the pretend winner while Obama could become the hopeless whiner.

Two words: FUCK THAT.

Obama played his hand well, as we could expect a good card player to do. He did grant a concession on Florida, and he stood his ground on Michigan. He showed be can be magnanimous without being a fool. By staying strong and not belittling himself to being the "sour grapes" guy, he doesn't become Al Gore in 1999. He knows better. Because the Democrats abandoned Gore back then, and they'd abandon Obama too, the same way they are going to (rightly) abandon Clinton. You see, Democrats present themselves as champions of the underdog, but in the end the party as a whole is weak at its very core. (If you need proof, I will refer you to the past two years since they've controlled the legislature and have accomplished little more than continued acquiescence to Bush and the Republicans.) Dems pretend to support the little guys while they bow to corporate lobbyists, but Obama knows this. The reason why Obama is reaching out beyond the party is because he knows the party is weak, and that the party cannot govern. Obama has gone straight to the people, because the people - when motivated and energized - can control the government.

There's a reason Obama encouraged supporters to avoid the RBC sessions, and it dovetails nicely with the campaign strategy that has been in play all along. Give Clinton enough rope and she'll hang herself. Take Indiana for example. (This same strategy is working on McCain now). Hillary actually walked into his trap. The weak showing of her supporters this weekend demonstrates the limits of her appeal. Imagine what Denver will be like if Obama says to his supporters, "I need you in Denver!" compared with Clinton's same rallying cry. Now imagine many thousands of young and hungry and invigorated Obama supporters contrasting with the paltry numbers of old and tired and bitter Hillary supporters. That very act will reshape the party forever, and make Blue Dogs quiver in their boots.

As with everything past its prime, things break down in places you least expect them to. If Clinton was betting on the RBC being her briar patch, she might have benefited by considering first that she might not be able to squirm her way out of her latest of so many prickly situations, and that there might actually be a smarter, leaner, and more crafty rabbit who led her into his own favorite briars.

Quote of the day

You know, there is a big thing we should be getting out of this party tonight, and that is the Democratic National Committee is not somehow controlled by the Clintons. Not by the Clinton campaign any more. We may have started this campaign believing that the Clinton campaign controlled, but this is Barack Obama's party now. He's already been winning the outside game, he now won the inside game. Yes it's true that Harold Ickes can threaten this stuff about the credentials, but Don Fowler really did signal today by being for the Michigan compromise that, "Guys, it's over."

- (the inimitable) Chuck Todd, MSNBC

Hillraisers for McCant?

Outside of the RBC meeting in DC today, some Clinton supporters showed their true colors.





Are these women Republican plants, or do they really think this way? If they are for real, they're doing a terrible job at dispelling the myth of women being inherently irrational. What could be more irrational than voting against all of your principles and choosing your opponent whose platform and ideology is anathema to everything you stand for, over your competitor from the same party whose platform and ideology is nearly identical to yours?

Would Hillary supporters so willingly do their best to hand over the the future of America to John McCant, which would ensure at least another four years of disastrous Bush-style governing, the appointments of many more conservative judges and one or two justices, further erosion of our civil liberties, relinquishing even more control of our country to corporations, increased environmental devastation, and a possible complete regression of women's reproductive rights?

If Clinton supporters would rather do this just to keep Barack Obama out of the White House, then that would make Clinton supporters useless to the Democratic Party, and they should be driven out. I assert that any Clinton supporter who has threatened to vote for McCain should be driven out of the party.

If you know of any Clinton supporters, you should call them out and renounce them. That kind of behavior is despicable.

One last note:
I must say that the behavior of the Clinton supporters at the RBC meeting today has been perfectly consistent with the behavior of Clinton supporters I have encountered while campaigning for Obama. These people have been horrible, they have been exceedingly rude, they have been mean and nasty to the core. Voting for Hillary Clinton means endorsing this very type of sickening behavior. Who wants four years of that?

Done deal? Doubt it.

After Clinton drone Harold Ickes said Hillary advised that they would reserve the right to take the FL/MI delegate matter to the credentials committee at the convention, along with [her] horde persistently disrupting the RBC meeting with their shrill chants and cries of "DENVER! DENVER!" how can anyone expect that Clinton will not continue with her scorched earth strategy?

Chuck Todd and a few others on the net seem to think that she won't, but I think Rachel Maddow called it squarely. "Stepping back from the trees," she sees Clinton's slash and burn forest. She takes Ickes's threat as credible, and so do I. Clinton has been given a long leash in this campaign, and every time someone gives her the benefit of the doubt, they have to eat their words. This time is no different. There are plenty of missiles left in Clinton's win-at-all-costs arsenal.

The DNC, RBC, and Obama campaign wanted only one objective coming out of this meeting today, and that was to begin uniting the party. Clinton supporters had zero interest in this objective ahead of the meeting and after, as was clearly evidenced by their abhorrently disruptive behavior inside the hall, and outside.

Clinton and her supporters want nothing short of Obama NOT becoming president. If you don't believe me, see my next post.

Hunter says Rules are for chumps

Hunter cracks me up. I like the idea of California getting 5000 delegates. Even better if most of them are SUPER!

New comments feature added

I'm taking advantage of a new comments feature by a third-party group called DISQUS. It should make commenting easier, and more interesting. So feel free to leave your comments about my posts, positive or negative.

UPDATE: Nice thing about the new feature is you don't have to bother with those stupid CAPTCHA word verifications

McCain more like Bush all the time

I honestly can't tell if he's deliberately lying or if he really believes the shit he says. Whichever it is, both disqualify as president, and both make him look just like Bush.

From Think Progress:

When under pressure, McCain has a habit of making sweeping blanket statements. Criticized for his stance on the 21st Century GI Bill last week, McCain falsely claimed he “received the highest award from literally every veteran’s organization in America.” In December, McCain made the blatantly false assertion that the he is “the only one the special interests don’t give any money to.”

McCain sounds more and more dangerous every time he opens his mouth.

OCD blog

Hilarious. A blog where you can post your neuroses. I was going to post one, but I seem to share similar neuroses with lots of others. I need to read through them all to see if I have any unique behavioral ticks.

Mmmmm... beeeeer

Awesome new "local" discovery - City Beer Store in SoMa. As cool as it looks so far, the first two hard-to-find beers I like aren't to be found there, but I called and they're open to finding them.

(h/t to Kitten)

The Incredible HULC

When you think of exoskeletons, you think of Iron Man first, but this wicked cool unit created by Berkeley Bionics is the HULC, or Human Universal Load Carrier.

Check out this video of the HULC in action

Disenfranchised voters?

As I mentioned in an earlier post about knowing Floridians who did not vote in the primaries knowing their votes wouldn't count, now there's evidence that as many as a million voters did not turn out to vote. Check it out:

Bottom line: As these numbers clearly show, if these two states had held recognized contests with turnout in line with the best-fit curve for the other states, it seems likely that many more voters would have turned out -- possibly as many as one million in Florida, and over half a million in Michigan -- and we simply can't know how those people would have voted. These simple facts render both contests, especially Michigan, seriously dubious as actual measurements of the will of each state's electorate.

What does Hillary and her horde have to say about them? (Deafening silence).

A compromise has been reached apparently, thanks to the grace and magnanimity of Barack Obama. But if there were any sense of decency left in this country, none of the FL votes would count.

"I hate the gooks!"

So said John McCain back in 2000.

Arizona Sen. John McCain refused to apologize yesterday for his use of a racial slur to condemn the North Vietnamese prison guards who tortured and held him captive during the war.

"I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live."

McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, was questioned about the language because of a story last month in the Nation magazine reporting his continued use of the slur.

I can understand why he of all people would say something like this, and that very reason is why he should NOT be the next president. How can anyone expect someone like this to be a responsible leader when he can't even control his mouth?

Young Hillary Clinton

It's back up.

The Story of Stuff

As shared with me by my better half... it's good for kids, good for adults!

McCain, the remains

If this interesting post is to be believed - and it sounds pretty good to me - McCain being the GOP front-runner has less to do with his appeal than it has to do with the other former GOP candidates being much less appealing.

The Arizona Senator looks a lot like a Phoenix rising from the flames of what appeared to be a vanquished campaign. But what many in the media are overlooking is that his success and ultimate coronation as the Republican nominee was not a result of his ability to convince those both within as well as outside his party that he's the best man for the job. Rather, his rise to the top was born out of a pile-up that took the top-tier out of contention. Whether he'll be able to parlay that success into the White House is yet to be seen.

My bet is that the more people get to know Barack Obama, the more they like him. The more they get to know McCain, the more they see he's just a charlatan with a supportive mainstream media helping to keep alive his "maverick" charade.

A spoonful of truth

open up and say "ahhhh!"

Where have all the journalists gone?

I've been ranting about this since before 2000 when W. was stealing his way into office, and there is little doubt that the major media outlets have been gradually whithering and wasting away, becoming self-mocking caricatures resembling nothing more than tabloids. As the furor over Scott McClellan's new book has brought this issue to the forefront again, it is as important as ever to ask where have all the journalists gone?

It is safe to say that they have left all of the major media outlets, but there were a few truth tellers out there all along, and they were to be found in the Knight-Ridder and McClatchy families (McClatchy bought Knight-Ridder in 2006).

Apart from the truly hard working folks in the blogosphere who I'd say work much harder than most big media journalists for a fraction of the reward and an even smaller level of reach and exposure, there are a few places where you can find true investigative journalists. Here are my recommendations for old school gumshoes:

McClatchy DC Bureau
Christian Science Monitor
Greg Palast

And in the blogs:

Daily Kos
Al Giordano at The Field
Atrios
Nukes & Spooks
Andrew Sullivan
Glenn Greenwald (from Salon)
Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks
Firedoglake
Talking Points Memo

(there are other good blogs linked lower down in the right column)

The bottom line is, if you want the truth, you'll be hard pressed to find it at ABC, NBC, CBS, or CNN.

As for Fox, give me a fucking break. I also highly recommend ignoring the Associated Press, especially now that they've got Fox's Roger Ailes on their Board of Directors.

For the record...

Clinton said Michigan wouldn't count, after signing the pledge to not campaign there, but choosing to keep her name on the ballot.



As for Florida, I personally know Floridians who didn't bother to vote in the FL Democratic primary because they knew their vote would not count. So if Hillary or her supporters want to talk about disenfranchised voters, make sure those (non)voters who were already disenfranchised get considered too. The second important part about Florida is that the legislative body - and some of its DINOs like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz - didn't bother to protest the GOP governor's plan to move up the primaries. If FL has a beef with their votes not being counted, they take it out on your closeted gay governor Crist and the Republicans in the legislature.

Is the truth really out there?

I guess we'll see tomorrow. Better alert Mulder and Scully.

Hump Day SNAP!

Axelrod delivers a beat down to McCan't!

"I never lobbied anybody! What I do is make ads and try to involve people in the process, people outside the halls of legislatures or city councils, to get involved in public issues. What lobbyists do is go behind closed doors and try to influence lawmakers sometimes with implied promises of support for their campaign and so on, It is fundamentally different. I have never lobbied a politician on behalf of a client in my life. And I certainly have never talked to Obama about any client. It is a red herring put up by a campaign that is being run by the most powerful corporate lobbyist in Washington in Charlie Black and being managed by a corporate lobbyist.

"I think that Senator McCain talks about reform and cleaning up Washington and cleaning up the budget and so on. I think there has to be a recognition that one of the reasons Washington is the way it is, and one of the reasons we have the problems we have, and one of the reasons there is a ten thousand page tax code and budget that is larded with pork and so on, is that you've got an army of corporate lobbyists patrolling Capitol Hill who are working relentlessly to put that stuff in. and if you don't recognize that you are missing a big part of the story."

Republiscums must be shaking in their boots when...

Rupert Murdoch Says Obama Will Win

"He is a rock star. It's fantastic" "I love what he is saying about education." "I don't think he will win Florida.....but he will win in Ohio and the election". "I am anxious to meet him." "I want to see if he will walk the walk."

He goes on to say about John McCant:

"McCain is a friend of mine. He's a patriot. But he's unpredicatble. Doesn't seem to know much about the economy. He has been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of compromises. So what's he really stand for?... I think he has a lot of problems."

What? Clinton Lied? NOOOOOOOooooo......

Clinton raised $10 Million in 24 hours? Not according to the Federal Election Commission filing. Is anyone surprised? Not me, I'm proud to say. Not like I didn't predict the truth would be revealed or anything.

Go Digg this!

They Rule

Just starting with the most obvious corporations which might benefit from war, I was able to map out these connections. Granted, this map is relying on 2004 data, and many corporations have consolidated or re-branded since, but you can easily see how individuals who sit on boards together can profit from war.

We all know we were being lied to by the press

But some in the press still don't get it... like Anderson "Tool Shed" Cooper.



Why does Anderson Cooper sound so surprised? It's not like he wasn't likely pushed the same way by CNN executives. Either that, or he was willful about his "blowing sunshine up our asses" reporting that helped lead us into Iraq.

The only thing shocking about the revelations in Scott McClellan's new book is that the press are the ones who seem surprised that Bush and Rove and the rest of BushCo have been lying to us. Big fat fucking DUH!

It doesn't take a leap of imagination to understand why certain corporate executives would take advantage of the madness - or dare I say sickness - that infected this country after 9/11, and drive us into another war. When you consider that NBC is owned by GE, and GE makes A LOT of military equipment (and medical equipment too), why wouldn't they push for war? War means bigger sales and contracts of that military equipment. Maimed and dismembered soldiers mean more chances for medical equipment sales, or more importantly, R & D on equipment in development.

Follow that same logic as it applies to other media outlets controlled by big corporations with a vested interest in military or medical equipment. Take a look at who sits on the corporate boards of media outlets and corporations with ties to the military here: www.theyrule.net

If there was any true justice in the world, the American media would be tried for war crimes along with the Bushies. Alas, 'tis only a dream.

McSame

Who can tell the difference anymore?

Did Bush and Rove really steal the '04 election?

Greg Palast says he has unequivocal proof. I need to research this more. I do know that Greg Palast is one of the only living true investigative journalists. Check out his site.

True Obama

Double Intenuendos...

... or double intenuendres... from Star Trek: The Next Generation. HAHA!

Another My Next New Bike

This is a little closer 'coz I assembled it at the "Allstate Garage." Go build your own!

NOT my next new bike

I will mercilessly mock everyone short of a physical handicap who I see riding one of these stupid things:



0-60 in 4 seconds? Phhht. Top speed 110 mph? Whatever. Safe? If you want safe, buy a Volvo. I could see this being fun for about one ride, sort of like a snowmobile or wave-runner is. So I could see owning one if I was 80 or so.

On the other hand, this looks bad-ass! It has a few more horses, but more importantly, it doesn't pretend to be a motorcycle.

my San Francisco values

If San Francisco values mean carrying my own reusable bags to the grocery store instead of using paper bags or plastic bags that choke up recycling machines, and never having to decide which environmentally damaging option is worse, the I'll take San Francisco values.

If San Francisco values mean using good ol' manpower to push an electric lawnmower over the same size patch of lawn that other fat and lazy Americans choose to drive a riding lawnmower over, then I'll take San Francisco values.

If San Francisco values mean choosing to sell my car and opt for short-term renting/leasing of cars that get excellent gas mileage versus driving a gas guzzling Hummer and burying my head in the sand of ignorance and denying the fact that gas prices will never come back down again, then I'll take San Francisco values.

If San Francisco Values mean accepting of a marital union between two people who love each other regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, as opposed to accepting that it is immoral by the standards of the same type of people that think it's funny to joke about the murder of our presidential candidates, then I'll take San Francisco values.



What are your values? Feel free to post them in the comments.

Almost like that Molly Hatchet song

...Flirting with Disaster.

Wake Up, America. We're Driving Toward Disaster.

From the WaPo op-ed about the "post-oil future of America...

We don't have time to be crybabies about this. The talk on the presidential campaign trail about "hope" has its purpose. We cannot afford to remain befuddled and demoralized. But we must understand that hope is not something applied externally. Real hope resides within us. We generate it -- by proving that we are competent, earnest individuals who can discern between wishing and doing, who don't figure on getting something for nothing and who can be honest about the way the universe really works.

James Howard Kunstler is the author, most recently, of "World Made by Hand," a novel about America's post-oil future.

Not quite Icarus

But extraordinary in every way! Fournier is going for it again!

HRC stands for...

Horrible Racist Creep
Heartless Rash Classless
Hateful Rancid Callous
Hysterically Relentless Creature
Hostile Ruthless Criminal
Historically Rotten Campaign
Haggard Reanimated Corpse
Horror Rancor Canker
Hooves Rashes Cankles
Hidden Republican (in the) Closet
Hillary Rodham Clinton

She represents all of this, and I feel comfortable saying this after her Horribly Rotten and Callous remarks when she invoked the assassination of Bobby Kennedy as a reason for her campaign to continue. Make no mistake about it, she did this on purpose. She did not mis-speak. She's been playing this game too long to not know the power of words. The only difference this time is that she miscalculated the impact those carefully chosen words would have.

Olbermann properly takes her to the woodshed for that - and her many other - stupid remarks this campaign season.

+40 and -40 = 80

If 40 of Clinton's delegates flip for Obama, that amounts to a net 80 lead for Obama.

My "new" next bike...

Sweeeet!

Depends on what the definition of 'transparency' is

I guess to John McCain, the word transparency means something other than being transparent.

...some 400 pages of Senator John McCain's medical records....rather than make all the records public, the campaign has chosen to make them available to the pool reporters for a three-hour window. According to this account in the New York Times, the reporters can take notes but not make photocopies.

So Cindy refusing to release her taxes, and his refusing to fully release his medical records is being transparent? I wonder how they define secrecy.

GO, JOE!

Joe Biden that is! The fiery senator and former presidential candidate turns his guns on that other Joe, the scumbag Lieberman in this WSJ Op-Ed.

On Wednesday, Joe Lieberman wrote on this page that the Democratic Party he and I grew up in has drifted far from the foreign policy espoused by Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy.

In fact, it is the policies that President George W. Bush has pursued, and that John McCain would continue, that are divorced from that great tradition – and from the legacy of Republican presidents like Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Sen. Lieberman is right: 9/11 was a pivotal moment. History will judge Mr. Bush's reaction less for the mistakes he made than for the opportunities he squandered.

[snip]

Iran's people need to know that their government, not the U.S., is choosing confrontation over cooperation. Our allies and partners need to know that the U.S. will go the extra diplomatic mile – if we do, they are much more likely to stand with us if diplomacy fails and force proves necessary.

The Bush-McCain saber rattling is the most self-defeating policy imaginable. It achieves nothing. But it forces Iranians who despise the regime to rally behind their leaders. And it spurs instability in the Middle East, which adds to the price of oil, with the proceeds going right from American wallets into Tehran's pockets.

The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on tension with America is an America ready, willing and able to engage. Since when has talking removed the word "no" from our vocabulary?

It's amazing how little faith George Bush, Joe Lieberman and John McCain have in themselves – and in America (emphasis mine).

Chopped Parsley

McCant cuts loose another pastor. Too late in my opinion. Damage done.

Zimbabwe Irony

I am surprised that I haven't been able to find anywhere on the internets anything about the irony of Hillary's claim that this Democratic Party primary is much like the election in Zimbabwe. To wit:

"We're seeing that right now in Zimbabwe," Clinton explained. "Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people," Clinton told the crowd of senior citizens at a retirement community in south Florida.

What is ironic is that she is trying to cast herself as the opposition struggling against the establishment, when it has to be clear to anyone who is capable of thinking with anything other than their genitalia, or everyone outside of Appalachia, that Hillary IS the embodiment of the establishment.

If any metaphoric comparison can be considered at all, it is Obama that is the Tsvangirai to Bill's and Hillary's Mugabe and Mbeki. It is the establishment that is desperately trying with every ounce of might, and coercion, and brutal strong arm tactic to bend and twist the rules of the game to keep the rebellious upstart from usurping their diminishing legacy. Michigan and Florida do not relate to Zimbabwe's standards, because the problem in Zimbabwe is not that votes aren't being counted, it is that many of the votes that are being counted should not be, namely those of dead or non-existent people. In this sense, Hillary is trying to force the counting of "dead" votes, much like Mugabe has been doing in this and past elections.

Once again, deliberately or not, Hillary has misaligned herself to a very serious issue. Having blundered again on such a serious matter proves she is no more fit for the CIC job than ol' W never was.

Of course, that doesn't matter as much as it ought to because I am somewhat certain that the canasta ladies and the other dwelling gamers in Boca Raton do not know - nor do they even care to know - anything about the goings-on anywhere in Africa, let alone Zimbabwe

I'm just sayin'

If we can't trust Hillary to honor her signed pledges on such a relatively small matter as to whether or not to seat electoral delegates, how can anyone ever expect her to keep her word on challenging issues that require firm resolve? If she were to sign a bill that demands the executive to get permission from Congress before bombing another country - say, Iran, how could anyone expect her to honor that? All of the promises she's been making on the campaign trail can normally be dismissed as pandering, as nearly all politicians do. But in her case, she's making these promises after she's already broken her first major campaign promise.

Sexism be damned, but hooray for racism!

Hillary can piss and moan all day long about sexism and mysoginy in the media and how that's affected her campaign, but it's perfectly fine for her to campaign for the votes of "hard working white people" who won't vote for a black man. Sexism be damned, but hooray for racism! She's repugnant.



Kudos to Gergen for calling out this slag.

Fighting Vampires (and other energy suckers)

Great list of tips for conserving energy here. Consider all the energy that would be saved if even half the people in the country followed these steps.

The monster won't die!

Hillary is like Jason, or Michael, or a cockroach.

 

From her latest howl:

Now, I know that Senator Obama chose to remove his name from the ballot in Michigan, and that was his right. But his choice does not negate the votes of all those who turned out to cast their ballots, and we should not let our process rob them and all of you of your voices. To do so would undermine the very purpose of the nominating process. To ensure that as many Democrats as possible can cast their votes. To ensure that the party selects a nominee who truly represents the will of the voters and to ensure that the Democrats take back the White House to rebuild America.

Now, I've heard some say that counting Florida and Michigan would be changing the rules.

I say that not counting Florida and Michigan is changing a central governing rule of this country - that whenever we can understand the clear intent of the voters, their votes should be counted. I remember very well back in 2000, there were those who argued that people's votes should be discounted over technicalities. For the people of Florida who voted in this primary, the notion of discounting their votes sounds way too much of the same.

Once again Hillary fails to highlight the fact that she signed a pledge agreeing to nullify the Michigan and Florida votes, making her both a liar and a con. She's a bleedin' loon. Whatever respect anyone had or has for this horrible, horrible excuse for a woman should be adamantly rejected. Hillary Clinton is a disgrace to this country, just as are Karl Rove, George W. Bush, and all of their ilk.

 

At least someone out there has some measure of decency: 

"We are open to comprise.  We are willing to go more than half way.  We're willing to work to make sure that we can achieve a compromise.  And I guess the question is: is Senator Clinton's campaign willing to do the same?" - David Axelrod, to NPR's All Things Considered, to be broadcast tonight.

McCant is trolling for trolls

Now this is almost sad. No. It is definitely sad. The McCain campaign is actually soliciting for blog trolls. Definition here, but in short trolls are the losers that post comments on blog postings that are usually irrelevant to the actual post, and are more often meant to be provocative. McCain is even providing the trolls with exact messages to post.

 

You can't get much more pathetic.

McCain PWNED again!

Obama is making McCant look like the doddering old fool he's become.

Grrrrrr! Raaaaar! Grrr!

Mackenstein?



Me maverick. Grrr.

Senator Byrd endorses Obama

It would seem to me that in the way it really matters, Obama got the bigger win out of WV.

Obama to GOP: "Lay off my wife!"

"And I'll lay off yo mama!" (I made that part up.)



I can smell what the Barack is cooking. If the Republiscums want keep making this personal, they'll be getting a smackdown. Barack is showing that he's a man who'll defend his family aggressively.

(Thanks to TPM for the video!)

75,000 Kool-Aid drinkers?

Nope. This is what it looks like when people stand up to take back their country from the corporations and right-wing extremists.