270 to Win: Looking Ahead to November

270 to Win is a fascinating site that I discovered during the 2004 election cycle. It shows you the electoral map for every presidential race, as well as allowing you to edit one for the current election cycle. Here are some extreme examples for both parties:

1964 - My Blue Heaven


1984 - Red Dawn


Obama '08 Possibility


Of course, I'm merely projecting HOPE based on primaries and the national mood. Play around with the 2008 map and let me know what YOUR scenario looks like!

A Message from North Carolina Republicans

Just in case you wondered what dirty tricks they were up to. We intercepted this letter to the party faithful:

Dear Newsmax Reader: Please find below a special message from our advertising sponsor the North Carolina Republican Party. They have been attacked for running a TV ad showing the close relationship between Barack Obama and Rev. Wright. They are seeking urgent help to keep this ad running. Please read their important information below. Thank you. Newsmax.com NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 1506 Hillsborough Street • Raleigh, NC 27605 Phone: 919-828-6423 • Fax: 919-899-3815 • www.NCGOP.org Dear Friends, I need your help! The Democrat candidates for President have descended on North Carolina. They are overwhelming the airwaves with their far left, blame America first message. Somebody has to stand up against these zealots, and I intend for that somebody to be the North Carolina Republican Party. I want you to view this ad we made taking Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Beverly Perdue, and Richard Moore to task for their anti-American liberal hate speech. I really need your help to get our message out, Please click here and send a donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1000 to help us get this message out! Three televisions stations have already decided to censor us by refusing to air our ad. I critically need to raise $50,000 in the next 24 hours to get a statewide cable television buy on the air before the North Carolina Primary on May 6th. Please click here and send a donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1000 to help us get our message out. The most you can send is $10,000, but every single penny helps. I know the liberals in the media, the Democrat Party, and even some Republicans have condemned this ad as politically incorrect. But you already knew the liberal media isn't telling the voters the truth about Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore. That's why we must take this message straight to the citizens: "Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Beverly Perdue, and Richard Moore are just too extreme and don't share or represent America's Values." We must go around the liberals that control the mainstream media and take our message directly to the voters. This TV ad does just that. Please forward this message to your friends and family and encourage them to donate today to help keep this ad on the air. God bless, Linda Daves North Carolina Republican Party Chairman P.S. – As Rush Limbaugh said about our ad, "The North Carolina GOP is not backing down, and they are fundraising successfully off of this. " So please send money ASAP to make sure our message is heard! PAID FOR BY THE NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate Committee http://www.ncgop.org

Floyd inflatable pig is recovered

A giant inflatable pig which floated away during a Roger Waters concert at the weekend has been recovered in tatters in California.

The pig, which measured the width of two buses, was found by two families on their driveways in La Quinta.

They will split the $10,000 (£5,090) reward offered by the Coachella music festival, from where the pig was lost.

The inflatable pig bore the image of a ticked ballot box for US presidential hopeful Barack Obama on its underbelly.

Prototype pig

The animal's flanks carried the slogans "fear builds walls" and "don't be led to the slaughter", with a cartoon of Uncle Sam holding two meat cleavers.

Former Pink Floyd star Waters said "that's my pig" as it drifted away during Sunday's gig.

The inflatable appeared at the Coachella festival in California Enlarge Image

Coachella spokeswoman Marcee Rondan said: "It wasn't really supposed to happen that way."

The pig was tethered to the ground with ropes and floated away as Waters was playing Pink Floyd song Pigs on the Wing.

Pink Floyd had used inflatable pigs during their concerts in the past, and the lost animal was the same prototype as all the others, according to Ms Rondan.

The two families who found what was left of the inflatable have also decided to share four life tickets to the Coachella festival that were offered as part of the reward.

Supreme Court upholds Indiana voter ID law

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, in a fractured decision, upheld an Indiana law Monday that requires voters show a photo ID issued by the federal or state government.

“States should have the ability to implement appropriate and constitutional steps to protect their electoral systems from fraud,” Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said in response. “We can move forward in Indiana with a process that provides constitutional protections to its citizens protecting their vote from potential fraudulent activity.”

Indiana next votes in the May 6 primary that is expected to set a record for turnout in a presidential election year.

Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and an expert on election law, called the decision a significant win for backers of voter identification laws.

“Although there was no majority opinion for the court,” said Hasen, who had supported the position of the challengers, “the upshot is going to be that most of these laws are going to be upheld for most people, leaving open the possibility of challenges for small groups of voters who face special burdens.”

Opponents had argued that the law, considered the toughest voter ID statute in the nation, places substantial practical and financial burdens on voters and is aimed at fixing a type of election fraud that rarely occurs.

The state said the law imposes minimal, if any, interference and increases public confidence in the integrity of the elections.

The court agreed. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy wrote that because Indiana’s cards are free, the inconvenience of getting one does not qualify as a substantial burden on most voters’ right to vote.

But Hasen said Steven’s opinion made clear that if a specific group of voters could show the law imposed unique burdens on them, they could challenge the law’s constitutionality.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who sided with the majority for different reasons, did not recognize that opening.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented.

Souter, along with Ginsburg, said the law “threatens to impose nontrivial burdens” on the voting rights of tends of thousands of citizens, a significant portion of which are likely to be deterred from voting.

“A state may not burden the right to vote merely by invoking abstract interests, be they legitimate or even compelling,” Souter wrote, “but must make a particular, factual showing that threats to its interests outweigh the particular impediments it has imposed.”

Although there’s no record of people impersonating others at the polls in Indiana, the state argued it could have been happening because Indiana has one of the most inflated voter registration lists in the country.

Breyer, who wrote his own dissent, said the law imposes a disproportionate burden upon voters without a driver’s license or other valid form of photo ID.

About half the states have some voter ID requirement. Seven states, including Indiana, ask for a photo ID although some will accept a signed affidavit instead. Indiana and Georgia both require the ID to be government-issued. Opponents said Indiana’s law is tougher because it’s harder to get the free ID.

Challengers, who included the Indiana Democratic Party, said the law is particularly hard on the poor, the elderly, minorities and others who might be less likely to own a driver’s license or passport and more likely to vote Democratic.

“The Supreme Court should be facilitating the right of all Americans to vote, not throwing up roadblocks,” said Judith Schaeffer, legal director for People for the American Way, which was among the groups opposing Indiana’s law. “The idea of in-person fraud at the polls is really a myth. It is problem that does not really exist.”

The law, passed in 2005, was previously upheld by a federal judge and by a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A survey released earlier this year by American University’s Center for Democracy and Election Management found that more than two-thirds of registered voters in Indiana, Mississippi and Maryland would trust the election system more if voters had to show an ID. About 1.2 percent of those surveyed lacked a government-issued photo ID, which the center’s co-director said shows the photo ID requirement is not a serious concern.

Youth Vote Shifts Dramatically Towards Democrats

Pew Research reports:

Trends in the opinions of America's youngest voters are often a barometer of shifting political winds. And that appears to be the case in 2008. The current generation of young voters, who came of age during the George W. Bush years, is leading the way in giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification, just as the previous generation of young people who grew up in the Reagan years -- Generation X -- fueled the Republican surge of the mid-1990's.

In surveys conducted between October 2007 and March 2008, 58% of voters under age 30 identified or leaned toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33% who identified or leaned toward the GOP. The Democratic Party's current lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since the 2004 campaign, from 11 points to 25 points.

In fact, the Democrats' advantage among the young is now so broad-based that younger men as well as younger women favor the Democrats over the GOP -- making their age category the only one in the electorate in which men are significantly more inclined to self-identify as Democrats rather than as Republicans.

Search Me: The new search engine

"You'll know it when you see it"


A cool new visual search engine. Type in what you're looking for, and it brings up relevant sites. As pictures. Tabbed. Click HERE to take a test run!

Jimmy Carter on the 2008 Race

Last night, Jimmy Carter appeared on Larry King and discussed Reverend Wright and the Democratic primary race:

Geography Quiz

How well do you understand the world around you? Click the graphic below to take a short quiz and find out:

Obama visits Basketball Hall of Fame

Barack Obama at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, with former NBA player George McGinnis and New Castle basketball coach Steven Bennett:

You Tell Me

I hate it when Mondays happen! BTW, if you've misplaced your child this weekend. . .I think I found him, but. . .YOU tell ME:

The 300 Movies You Must See Before You Die!

You know (or at least those who KNOW me do), I haven't spent alot of time parked in front of the TV or the local big screen. But the dudes at Maxim magazine caught my attention with this article. Hell, the first four flicks mentioned are Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Big Lebowski, Kingpin, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy! DUH! I own all four of them. . .

My mission is clear, my dvd player is warmed up, and I'm still (sorta) young. . .I must endeavor to follow the rest of their suggestions and see all 300 of these "must sees" before I expire!

Hello? Netflix? I have a custom playlist and an extended order. Do you have a few minutes? Good!

I'm not a racist; are you?

My reaction time is a tad slow, but I don't seem to see things in "black and white".

Well, that's what a University Of Chicago online psychological test tells me.

Click here to take the test yourself and tell me how you score.

My ResultsProfiled recently in The New York Times, the online pop psych test presents you with images of 100 Black and white men. Some are armed, while others are carrying nothing more dangerous than a wallet or a cell phone. Unfortunately, if you're a Black man in New York, you're fully aware of the danger of carrying seemingly harmless objects.. From Amadou Diallo, who died after being shot at 41 times by police as he reached for his wallet, to the case of Sean Bell who, though unarmed, was gunned down by NYPD officers in a confrontation after a bachelor party, New York is ripe with examples of how deadly being a Black man in the wrong place at the wrong time can be.

With that in mind, I took the online exam. I was presented with these images and prompted to either shoot or holster my weapon depending on my split-second determination of whether the target was carrying a weapon or not. You lose points for being too slow and deliberate. The point of the exam is to gauge your instinctive belief of whether the target will be armed based on skin color.

My results were … "slow and deliberate". Definitely not racist; in fact I was quicker to shoot the white man with a gun. My overall score was 210, low compared to scores I observed on the site where I found this referenced. In all fairness to myself, the keys used to fire and holster, / and Z respectively seemed unfamiliar. I was probably 30 shots into the test before I became comfortable with them. My mindset was to focus immediately on the hand and it's contents as it appeared. Everything else became secondary.

The score is determined by getting points for a "good" shot -- shooting a target that is armed -- and losing points for either getting shot or shooting an unarmed target. In short, this exercise comes down to fractions of seconds. Fractions of seconds? Yes, but that's what real armed police officers who make these life and death decisions in real life situations as they encounter possible perps are faced with.

Let me know what your results look like!

**Update: I just tried the test again and, with more familiarity of the controls, my ratios didn't change appreciably but my score increased to 435.

Obama addresses "elitism" charges

Ft.Wayne Obama Block Party

Ace reporter Roger McNett brings us his report on the block party for Obama here in the Summit City. Roger has TONS of pictures AND video to share with us! Click the picture below to check it out:


Also, a reminder that there will be another Block Party next Saturday, May 3 starting at noon till 4:00. If you have NOT voted already, please plan to attend and vote. Then spend some time knocking on doors for change. As urgent as it was to register voters, it is now urgent to find supporters and get them to vote early. Let's make sure we know who needs a ride to the polls and who needs information about their polling location. Let's help Sen. Obama win Allen County! And then Indiana!! And then the White House!!! YEEEAAAHHHHH!!! Sorry. I was channeling Chairman Dean for a moment there! Can you blame me? I have HOPE!!

I'm the sort of voter who enjoys going to the polls on election day and voting in person. But, as the two Obama volunteers who visited my home today reminded me, THIS year has seen dramatic increases in registered voters and participation, so it MIGHT be a good idea to utilize the early voting process this time around. . .

Zogby Gets it Right

James Zogby has a message for the Clinton campaign:

END IT NOW.

Partly due to the seven-week gap between the first 42 contests and this week's match-up in Pennsylvania, and partly due to the tenacity and temerity of the Clintons, this election is being presented as close and not yet over. But it is over.

Zogby has a few observations on his reasoning that are well thought out and difficult to argue against:

First: The numbers are clear: Clinton cannot surpass Obama's elected delegate total in the contests that remain. It is not unlike a fifty-two lap motor race. In the first forty-three laps, Obama has passed her twice, and built up a lead that is insurmountable. Now, in the midst of the 44th lap, it only appears to be close, but it is not. The only way she could possibly win is either by changing the rules of the game in Michigan and Florida, or convincing a substantial number of superdelegates to cast their ballots for her -- overturning the results of the elections to date. Either of these two scenarios would cause a devastating upheaval within the party, bringing on what I call a "1968 moment."

Second: There is no doubt that the Democratic base has been energized by this election. The record number of voters, volunteers, and contributors point to this fact. But, at the same time, it is important to acknowledge that real damage is occurring within the Democratic constituency. Polls that show a growing fracture within the Democratic coalition should be read as cautionary signs to be heeded. Those Beltway pundits and party regulars who say "Don't worry, after the convention, Democrats will come together" are out of touch with the real damage that has been done in the minds of voters on both sides of the divide.

Early on, Senator Obama spoke eloquently about the degree to which cynicism had infected our politics, resulting in voters no longer believing what politicians have to say. Only those who did not understand his message, or heed the lesson he sought to teach, can believe that Hillary and Bill Clinton will be easily able to undo the negativity they have created. Some voters will surely ask, "Were they lying then, or are they lying now?"

Third: There is no doubt that Senator Clinton is a talented and an extraordinarily intelligent person. Her tragic flaw is her belief that only she is capable of leading. It is this that has caused her to engage in an effort to demean her opponent and engage in the kind of campaign that she once decried as "the politics of personal destruction." It is this that I call her narcissism, and the degree to which it has damaged not only the Democratic chances in November, but also her reputation -- defines the pathological self-destruction that so often follows from narcissistic behavior

This has gone on too long, and should end now. Former President Clinton has argued that all the states should be given a chance to vote. They should have that chance. And, if this campaign were focused on issues and a debate over competing visions of leadership, I would say, "Let it continue."

But this has not been the case. Given the behavior of the Clinton campaign to date, and the expectation this behavior will continue, I believe that prolonging this agony will only create deeper division. For this reason, it should end now.

My fellow superdelegates should wait no longer. As party leaders, we are uniquely positioned, and have the responsibility, to speak out. Indecision only serves to enable bad behavior. It is time for us to either demand that the behavior change, or act to end this now.

Saturday Night Soul

Grab a glass of wine, your significant other, sit back in your chair, relax and enjoy some James Ingram. . .


Just Once


One Hundred Ways


Baby, Come to Me


There's No Easy Way


What About Me?


Yah Mo B There


I Don't Have the Heart

Obama talks economics in Kokomo

Yesterday evening, at a Town Hall event in Kokomo, IN, Barack was introduced by Joe Nelson. Joe is a Kokomo local who was recently laid off from his job at the Kokomo Sanitary Pottery plant.In this video clip, Barack discusses Joe's story, and how the loss of manufacturing jobs is affecting small towns across the country:

Rev. Jeremiah Wright on PBS's Bill Moyers Journal

Get to see the REAL man and message here:



Click MENU to view the other three segments of the interview.

Terry McAuliffe praises FOX

It is deeply detrimental to the longterm interests of democracy when Democrats praise and support FOX News. This would be true regardless of who that Democrat is, but it's particularly heinous when Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is singing their praises.

"Let me congratulate FOX," McAuliffe said this past week, "because you were the first ones to call [the Pennsylvania primary] for Hillary Clinton." McAuliffe, who is also chairing Clinton's Presidential committee, actually echoed the FOX mantra by calling them "fair and balanced." What is so dangerous about McAuliffe's praise is that FOX is now using his words as a TV ad to prove just how fair and balanced they are. The rest of us know the truth.

Brave New Films put together this video as a reminder of how exceedingly unfair and imbalanced FOX actually is. These are just few gems to let McAuliffe and others know that FOX is the foe, has always been the foe, and will continue to be the foe of accurate reporting:

Barack Obama on Gas Prices, in Indianapolis

Friday Nite Retro

Gooooood evening, and welcome to another Friday Nite Retro! Tonight's featured band was formed in Woodstock, New York in February 1972 by guitarist/songwriter John Hall, vocalist/guitarist Larry Hoppen, drummer Wells Kelly, and Lance Hoppen on bass. Orleans found its core audience touring the clubs and college circuit of the Northeast US; Rolling Stone magazine called them "the best unrecorded band in America". That changed when they were signed by Asylum Records, recording their first Top 40 hit with "Let There Be Music" in early 1975.

Let There Be Music


The follow up single, "Dance With Me", brought Orleans into the mainstream of American pop music. Unfortunately, it also cast the band in a more "soft-rock" light and landed them a tour with Melissa Manchester, when they really were more at home on tour with bands such as Little Feat.

Dance With Me


The smash hit "Still the One" cemented Orleans' relationship with the American public. While the single was climbing the charts to the peak position of #5, the band did a major cross-country tour with label-mate Jackson Browne. However, within a year internal stresses prompted guitarist/songwriter Hall to leave the band in search of a solo career, as "Still the One" played ceaselessly as the ABC TV network theme song. Since then it has been used for countless commercials and movie soundtracks.

Still the One


ABC "Still the One" Promo


The Hoppen brothers and Kelly reunited the band and, in 1979, produced the #11 hit "Love Takes Time", continuing to tour with the likes of Stephen Stills and Chicago. Collectively, the three Orleans' hits have been aired over 7 million times.

Love Takes Time


Now approaching their 35th anniversary, Orleans continues to play live and record. Their latest studio album, Dancin’ in the Moonlight, was released in late 2005. The current lineup includes Lance and Larry Hoppen, youngest brother Lane Hoppen on keyboards, Dennis "Fly" Amero (replacing John Hall) on guitar and, on drums, Charlie Morgan (best known for his 14-year stint with Elton John). During his 2006 bid for a US Congressional seat, Hall appeared with the group on rare occasions. On November 7, 2006 Hall was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from the state of New York.

Dancin' in the Moonlight


Click the banner below to visit the band's website:

Wright was right

What you DIDN'T hear him say and WHO he was quoting. Thank FOX news, as usual, for taking everything out of context:



Meet the (White) man who inspired Wright's controversial sermon.

The Suspense is over

From Politico:

The torrent of speculation about the end game of the Democratic nomination contest is creating a false sense of suspense – and wasting a lot of time of the multitudes who are anxious to know how this contest is going to turn out.

Notwithstanding the plentiful commentary to the effect that the Pennsylvania primary must have shaken superdelegates planning to support Barack Obama, causing them to rethink their position, key Democrats on Capitol Hill are unbudged.

“I don’t think anyone’s shaken,” a leading House Democrat told me. The critical mass of Democratic congressmen that has been prepared to endorse Obama when the timing seemed right remains prepared to do so. Their reasons, ones they have held for months, have not changed – and by their very nature are unlikely to.

Essentially, they are three:

(a) Hillary Rodham Clinton is such a polarizing figure that everyone who ever considered voting Republican in November, and even many who never did, will go to the polls to vote against her, thus jeopardizing Democrats down the ticket – i.e., themselves, or, for party leaders, the sizeable majorities they hope to gain in the House and the Senate in November.

(b) To take the nomination away from Obama when he is leading in the elected delegate count would deeply alienate the black base of the Democratic Party, and, in the words of one leading Democrat, “The superdelegates are not going to switch their votes and jeopardize the future of the Democratic Party for generations.” Such a move, he said, would also disillusion the new, mostly young, voters who have entered into politics for the first time because of Obama, and lose the votes of independents who could make the critical difference in November.

(c) Because the black vote can make the decisive difference in numerous congressional districts, discarding Obama could cost the Democrats numerous seats. One Democratic leader told me, “If we overrule the elected delegates there would be mayhem.” Hillary Rodham Clinton’s claim that she has, or will have, won the popular vote does not impress them – both because of her dubious math and because, as another key Democrat says firmly, “The rules are that it’s the delegates, period.” (These views are closely aligned with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s statement earlier this year that the superdelegates should not overrule the votes of the elected delegates.)

Furthermore, the congressional Democratic leaders don’t draw the same conclusion from Pennsylvania and also earlier contests that many observers think they do: that Obama’s candidacy is fatally flawed because he has as yet been largely unable to win the votes of working class whites. They point out something that has been largely overlooked in all the talk – the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries were closed primaries, and, one key congressional Democrat says, “Yes, he doesn’t do really well with a big part of the Democratic base, but she doesn’t do well with independents, who will be critical to success in November.”

The curse of the office

We're all aware of the toll which the presidency takes upon those who live in the bubble 24/7. Just look at Bush and Cheney 8 years ago:

Seriously, though, the folks at PopPhoto.com have photo-shopped Clinton, McCain, and Obama in an attempt to show how they would appear after a first term as leader of the free world. Very cool! Click the link below to go there, and mouse-over each current photo to see them age before your eyes:

What the candidates would look like after 4 years in office.

World reacts to Hillary's Iran threat

On Tuesday's edition of ABC's "Good Morning America", Clinton said that she would "totally obliterate them (Iran)" even if they merely "consider" launching an attack on Israel:



From The Arab News:

If there were any doubt that if she made it to the Oval Office, Hillary Clinton’s term would be George Bush Mark III, the lady made it plain on the eve of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary.

Her campaign had already run TV advertisements featuring pictures of Osama Bin Laden and asking voters who they would really trust as their commander-in-chief, Clinton or Obama. Then Monday night, Clinton drove home her “toughness” by threatening to “obliterate” Iran if it launched an attack on Israel. Given the kind of foreign policy advisers she has (the same as those who paved the way for Iraq war), she may not wait for Iran to “attack” Israel. It can be a pre-emptive “obliteration.”

This is the foreign politics of the madhouse. It demonstrates the same doltish ignorance that has distinguished Bush’s foreign relations. It offers only violence where there should be negotiations and war where there could be peace. At a stroke, Clinton demonstrated to everyone in this region that if she were the next occupant of the White House, Iraq-like death and destruction would be the order of the day.

Britain - via AFP:

Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, a former United Nations deputy secretary-general and the foreign office minister responsible for Asia, questioned the comments by the New York senator, made in an interview broadcast Tuesday.

"While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequence of it continuing to develop nuclear weapons and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is not probably prudent... in today's world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country," he said.

Hillary Gone WIld!

My thoughts exactly. . .

From my dear friend in upstate New York, who's "represented" by Hillary Clinton, come these wise words:

i am tired. bone achingly tired. but i cannot stay silent any longer. i am taking a deep breath and i swear i am going to try to say this nicely... oh screw it!

if you are a hillary clinton supporter- you are stupider than any republican on the fu**ing planet. should i repeat that slower so that you get it?

since i have already voted in my primary, i have tried my damnedest to not get into a lather about politics- because this election, is fairly meaningless. what you don't seem to be getting here- this isn't politics as usual. i don't even know why i am wasting my time typing this. it isn't about white or black- it isn't about misogyny- it's about who the fuck will put some brakes on the continuing erosion of civil liberties in this country. look folks- get your head out of your assholes here. the reason hillary clinton is 'winning' in more states is what is called 'crossover voting'- even the msm talks about it. let me explain it very carefully for you- that's where republicans go and register to vote as a democrat in the democratic primaries. yeah- i don't get why they can do it either- but all you have to do is listen to rove- who was talking about it on fox today or the fatster himself- the self proclaimed leader of 'operation chaos' himself- limbaugh. look at the voting numbers and look at the states clinton 'won'- take a look at the fact that she is campaigning so dirty against a fellow democrat- and you can see that she is not a democrat.

oh- and fyfi- i am from new york- upstate new york- and i can tell you- she has done precisely shit for new york state. precisely shit- in spite of all of the promises for jobs and healthcare and blah, fucking, blah. so please- spare me how wonderful she is. how much she does for working families and women. i can attest that we haven't received any of her campaign promises. nope. so when you are all puffed up and feeling groovy about the fact that clinton took pennsylvania- the state that voted for rick santorum- keep it to yourself. you are the biggest reason that the republicans will win in november. oh- and another fyi- if you bothered to listen to the right once in awhile instead of gloating at the digs clinton lobs at obama- you would know that they want a mccain and clinton matchup- because they don't feel they can beat obama.

so- screw you all for squandering any opportunity we may have had to at least staunch the flow of blood that the neo cons have let over the last 15 years or so. just go out and pat yourselves right the fuck on the back and keep believing that another clinton term will be wonderful.

Thank you, Betmo! We'll do our best to end this here in the Hoosier State! Although we enjoy both, we're more into hoops here than bowling. Let's see who aces the tip off. . .

How to be a Millionaire

DOH! Why didn't *I* think of this:

Scenes from a hot-tub

Dick Cheney's not even really trying anymore:

Paul Davis has died at 60

Paul Davis has died of a heart attack at Rush Foundation Hospital in his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi. Davis is mostly known for his 1977 hit "I Go Crazy"from the album "Singer of Songs -- Teller of Tales". That song slowly climbed the charts, peaking at No. 7 eight months after its release, according to Billboard's Web site. It then stayed in the Top 100 for 40 weeks, a record at that time.

I Go Crazy


These next two are personal favorites of mine:

Sweet Life


Do Right


Cool Night


'65 Love Affair

Not Enough

Despite all of the spin you'll be hearing from the Clinton camp. . .

MSNBC calls Pennsylvania for Clinton

MSNBC has called Pennsylvania for Hillary Clinton at 8:45 pm. I'm not entirely sure how they can do this so early. Initially, with 1% reporting, she led 70-30. With 2% in, it was 65-35. At 3% reporting, it was 60-40. Over the last 15 minutes I've watched the percent reporting increase to 5%, and the spread drop to 53-47.

As usual, Chris Matthews demonstrated his mental state. Listen to his declaration and pay attention to the clock in the lower left part of the video:



Exit polls show that overall expectations are on Obama's side -- more than half in the PA exit polls preliminary results say they expect him, not Clinton, to be the party's eventual nominee. Indeed, there's no possible way for her to match his lead in pledged delegates and the popular vote.

At 9 PM with 6% in, it's 52-48.

At 9:15 with 12% in, it's 53-47.

At 9:30 with 20% in, it's STILL 53-47.

At 9:45 with 35% in, it's 54-46.

At 10 PM with 50% in, it's still 54-46. Of note, Philly and it's suburbs are mostly missing from the totals at this time. That's Obama territory.

At 10:15 with 60% in, still at 54-46.

Last entry - at 10:30 with 70% reporting, still at 54-46. We look forward to ending the ride here in the Hoosier state in two weeks, Hill. See you here and then. . .

Obama on Jon Stewart 4-21

*Stewart told Obama what the real concern voters have is: "The Rev. Wright controversy, the flag pin controversy. . . Will you pull a bait-and-switch, sir, and enslave the white race. Is that your plan? And if it is your plan, be honest, tell us now!" Obama's response (laughing, not mad): "That is not our plan, Jon, but I think your paranoia might make you suitable as a debate moderator."

Trapped!

All that Nicolas White wanted was a quick cigarette break. I'm down with that; I was a very heavy smoker until I quit in 2002. I remember the drill. . .always looking for an opportunity to light up. In 1999, Nicolas went for a nicotine fix and didn't return for nearly two days! The elevator in charge of his return trip had other plans and the dude was stuck in an elevator for 41 hours. This surveillance video crams those 41 hours down into 3 minutes:

John McCain - Just like us. . .

. . .if we'd left our wives for a younger woman with a net worth of seven figures that is:

Obama in 30 Seconds

Voting begins today on MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 Seconds" contest. A submission by fellow blogger Robert Rouse, Left of Centrist, has made it past the screening and now it is up to people like you to advance him into the next round:



You can vote for Robert's ad, and view others as well by clicking HERE. The winner of the contest will win a $20,000 certificate good for professional Video equipment. You've seen the quality of work Robert turns out with the equipment he has; just imagine what he could do with that!!

THE FOX IS WRONG! (Obama version)

Brave New Films aces it once again!

FOX’s objective is clear: carpet bomb Barack Obama with negative stories, distortions, and smears before the Pennsylvania primary in an attempt to skew the outcome toward the Republicans’ preferred adversary, Hillary Clinton. But did FOX imagine that the “liberal” media would be such willing accomplices?

Check out our latest episode of the gameshow sensation that’s sweeping the nation — THE FOX IS WRONG: OBAMA! Play along as FOX guests and personalities distort and misrepresent the statements of Obama and those around him, only to have that pesky “liberal” media pick up the smears and keep on running! For the finale, watch in wonder and amazement as ABC’s George Stephanopoulos allows Sean Hannity to actually spoon-feed him a question on Hannity’s radio show, then parrots it almost word-for-word a day later during ABC’s infamous Democratic debate in Pennsylvania!

For an added bonus, check out our last video to see what nine minutes of FOX on Obama looks like (don’t worry, the video is just 54 seconds). There you can get a small taste of FOX’s strategy to saturate their viewers with as many negative Obama stories as a cable line can carry — FOX spews more Obama smears in nine minutes than most networks deliver all day! And remember, this is just a summary of NINE MINUTES on FOX — there are 1,440 minutes every day...

Watch the videos, sign the petition, and fasten your seatbelts — we’ve got a crazy few months ahead, and the media won’t reform itself…

Clinton runs last minute "fear ad"

In a new Pennsylvania ad released today Hillary Clinton is once more, as in Ohio and Texas, using a last minute "fear ad" in an attempt to sway undecided voters. This one features a cameo appearance by Osama Bin Laden:



The Obama camp quickly responded this afternoon with this ad:



Oh! And don't forget what Bill Clinton had to say about "fear ads":

The Bush Library

The George W Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages. You'll want to be the first at your corporation to make a contribution to this great man's legacy.

The Library will include:

The HurricaneKatrinaRoom, which is still under construction.

The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you can't remember anything.

The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't have to even show up.

The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.

The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room (which no one has been able to find).

The Iraq War Room. After you complete your first tour, they make you to go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth.

The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.

Plans also include: The K-Street Project Gift Shop - where you can buy (or just steal) an election.

The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.

Last, but not least, there will be an entire floor devoted to a 7/8 scale model of the President's ego.

To highlight the President's accomplishments, the museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate them.

When asked, President Bush said that he didn't care so much about the individual exhibits as long as his museum was better than his father's.

You Tell Me

I've arrived at my decision for voting this year. I intend to back any and all candidates who support outlawing Mondays! I even have a favorite activity for all of us to participate in to celebrate the day. Okay. . .so I've had that activity for some time now; it's called "Make your own caption Monday", and away we go:

Damned cheap ass imports! See what happens under NAFTA and CAFTA? Ever wonder where those aluminum cans you so diligently recycled wound up? It's enough to make me long for a Yugo. . . (sigh)

"Vast right wing conspiracy" endorses Hillary

Hillary Clinton was endorsed today by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, personally funded many of the investigations that led to President Clinton's impeachment in 1998.

In addition to supporting conservative groups and publications investigating Bill Clinton's financial dealings and sex life, Scaife spent $2.3 million to fund a series of articles by The American Spectator magazine that dug into Bill Clinton's behavior as governor of Arkansas.

The magazine reported that Clinton had asked state troopers to help procure women for him and that he had sexually harassed a state worker named Paula Jones. Jones's legal case against Clinton helped launch an independent counsel investigation that eventually exposed his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.Hillary Clinton famously defended her husband at the time, saying the allegations were part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" heavily funded by Scaife.

Are YOU better off than you were 8 years ago?

Listen to John McCain's take on things:

Vance Hartke remembered

Mitch Harper had a post up several days ago that mentioned former Indiana Senator and Evansville Mayor Vance Hartke. Harper noted that few of his readers would remember the man. My gaze immediately turned to this glass which sits on the top shelf of my computer hutch, along with various other political mementos. I placed a paper towel in it in order to clarify the red print on the clear glass for these photos.

The text in the first photo is rather clear:

"Here's to Democratic Victories!

R.Vance Hartke
Mayor of Evansville

The text in the second shot reads:

A Toast:

"Here is to the future of the Democratic Party - to those who have the heart, the vision, the courage and the patience to transform our weakness and losses into strength and victory".

After joining the Indiana State Bar in 1948, Mr.Hartke practiced law in Evansville. He also worked as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney of Vanderburgh County (1950–1951) and Mayor of Evansville (1956–1958) before being elected to the United States Senate in 1958 and reelected in 1964 and 1970 (1959–1977). Hartke was known for his opposition to the Vietnam War and his chairmanship of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He lost reelection in 1976 to Richard G. Lugar. Hartke was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1972.

Hartke died in Falls Church, Virginia on July 27, 2003 at 84, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Hartke left behind his wife, Martha, and his seven children: Sandra, Jan, Wayne, Keith, Paul, Anita and Nadine as well as twelve grandchildren: Angela, Vance, Jason, Jessica, Travis, Melody, Chelsea, Hanna, Ryan, Dean, Zachary, and Wyatt, and two great grand children: Colby and Jackson. All of Hartke's family now resides in Northern Virginia with the exception of Sandra who resides in Maryland.

New Shoes?

In case you were wondering just how hard Barack has been pounding the pavement in his run for the presidency:

Sunday's Stephanopoulos-McCain Interview Leaked

Last week's Democratic debate in Philadelphia was an abysmal display of journalism. By sticking to trivial topics for half of the debate, ABC sought to provoke controversy without asking the candidates serious questions. The Huffington Post's Jason Linkins wrote that the debate "ventured into territory so utterly asinine that I could scarcely believe what I was witnessing."

Ironically, the mainstream media have been giving John McCain a free ride while trying to pin Clinton and Obama with manufactured "gotcha" questions. In fact, they don't seem to be challenging McCain at all. So there's no reason to think ABC's brand of pseudo-journalism won't continue tomorrow morning, when George Stephanopoulos will interview McCain on his show. Here's a satirical look at what that interview might be like:

Obama Wins Vast Majority Of Pennsylvania Newspaper Endorsements

via: TPM

Here's the rundown of which Pennsylvania newspapers have endorsed whom. . .

Papers endorsing Obama:

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Citizen's Voice

The Scranton Times-Tribune

The Allentown Morning Call

The Patriot News

Bucks County Courier

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Philadelphia Daily News

Papers endorsing Hillary:

The Daily Pennsylvanian

For what it's worth.

OBAMA GIRL at the Democratic Debate in Philadelphia

Clinton campaign - Out of Time

The clock is quickly winding down on the Hilary Clinton campaign. Based on the results thus far and polling in upcoming states, Obama appears on track to finish the primary campaign fewer than 100 delegates shy of the 2,025 needed to win.

Overall, Obama's delegate lead is 1,645-1,507. That masks an even larger advantage among those won in primaries and caucuses. There, his advantage is 1,414-1,250. 566 delegates remain at stake in the remaining contests in eight states, Guam and Puerto Rico before the primary season ends on June 3.

If Obama captures 53% of them, which is the share he has gained in contests to date, he would close out the primary season with at least 1,945 delegates, only 80 less than the total needed to clinch the nomination. If he and Clinton split the 566 evenly, he would still be within 100 of the number needed.

Clinton needs to win a forbidding 65% of the delegates in the remaining primaries to draw even with Obama in pledged delegates. It's a share she has achieved only once so far, in Arkansas, where her husband was governor for more than a decade.

Hillary, the party leaders have held off on pressuring you thus far out of respect for you and Bill. They've allowed you wiggle room that no other candidate would ever have been allowed. You have NO path to the nomination at this juncture in time. The delegate math does not lie, the super-delegates are flocking to Barack, and polling suggests that you will lose not only North Carolina and Indiana, but perhaps Pennsylvania as well. Additionally, the super-dels appear to be moving away from you regardless of your showing in those states.

They are looking ahead to November and deciding who can beat John McCain AND provide down-ticket wins for the party. That's not you. . .

They're looking at who has brought hundreds of thousands of new Democratic voters into play this year. That's not you. . .

This election, much like the 1930's FDR revolution and the 1980's Reagan revolution will determine which party holds the majority position in this country for decades. You are not that voice. . .

You are much the same as the scared little school kid who, confronted with a bully, draws a line in the sand and dares your opponent to cross it. And, when he does, you draw a new one. You drew a line in the sand on Super Tuesday. In Ohio. In Texas. And now Pennsylvania. Mrs.Clinton, you are running out of lines!

It is time for you to discontinue your scorched earth policies of winning at any cost, and take one for the team. Only from that path will your legacy be secured.

Here's the beef !- Sam Nunn, David Boren Endorse Obama

Two former senators, both major stars of the Democratic foreign policy establishment, have just endorsed Barack Obama and have agreed to serve on his national security team. Senator Sam Nunn served for 25 years (1972-1997) in the United States Senate and was Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1987 through 1995. Senator David Boren served in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1994 and is the longest-serving Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Between them, the two senators bring nearly 60 years of service and experience in elective office.

Senator Nunn:

"America remains the strongest nation in the world, but we can only be successful in tackling our toughest problems if we gain cooperation at home and abroad. Our next president - working across party and economic lines - must restore and strengthen our national purpose, our credibility, our competence and our spirit.

"We need a president who has the temperament of a leader - a sharp, incisive, strategic mind, a rare capacity for self criticism, and a willingness to hear contrary points of view.

"Based on my conversations with Senator Obama, reading his book and his speeches and seeing the kind of campaign he has run, I believe that he is our best choice to lead our nation. Senator Obama, as evidenced by his words and his deeds, recognizes that:

· We have developed a habit of avoiding the tough decisions and seemingly lost our ability to build consensus to tackle head-on our biggest challenges.

· Demonizing the opposition, oversimplifying the issues, and dumbing down the political debate prevent our country from coming together to make tough decisions and tackle our biggest challenges.

· Solving America's problems will require difficult choices and sacrifices and leaders capable of considering new ideas from both political parties.

· On foreign policy and security policy, we must recognize that we are not limited to a choice between belligerency and isolation and that we must listen to lead successfully on the key issues facing America and the world.

· Our next president must also recognize that the battle against violent terrorists, while requiring a prudent use of military power, is also a long-term contest of psychology and ideas.

"I believe that Senator Obama has a rare ability to restore America's credibility and moral authority and to get others to join us in tackling serious global problems that will determine our own well being and security. I believe that he will bring to the White House, high principles, clear vision and sound judgment. I believe that he will inspire people to put aside extreme partisanship for the common good. I believe that he will awaken the energy and idealism of people who have never been active in public affairs, particularly our young people. I believe that he will also attract skilled, experienced and energetic people to government and will have the sound judgment to put together an outstanding governing team, bringing people together across old boundaries.

"I believe that Barack Obama is the right choice for our nation. My own role in this campaign will be as an advisor - particularly in the field of national security and foreign policy."

Senator Boren:

"I am joining Senator Barack Obama's advisory team on foreign policy and national security because I believe it is my duty as a citizen to do all I can to help our country at this critical moment. Our strength is declining. Eighty-one percent of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction. We must act quickly to meet and overcome the challenges we face.

"Our most urgent task is to end the divisions in our country, to stop the political bickering, and to unite our talents and efforts. Americans of all persuasions are pleading with our political leaders to bring us together. I believe Senator Obama is sincerely committed to that effort. He has made a non-partisan approach to all issues a top priority.

"Senator Obama is also a person of sound and good judgment. He had the good judgment more than five years ago to warn against our involvement in this tragic and costly war. He also understands the need to repair our partnerships with other nations and to more effectively use diplomacy to serve our national interests.

"It is my hope that in sharing what I have learned during my time in public service, I will be helping my country."