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."

Friday Night Retro

Welcome once more to everybody's favorite weekend diversion - Friday Nite Retro at Left in Aboite! Tonight's artist is a trio from Colorado who formed in 1986 and have developed a sizable live following, especially in their home region. Big Head Todd and the Monsters is fronted by Todd Park Mohr on guitar and vocals, with Brian Nevin on drums and vocals and Rob Squires on bass and vocals. The trio had attended Columbine High School together and formed a band at the University of Colorado. The band name is a tribute to legendary blues/jazz "heads" (eg. Eddy Clean-head Vincent, etc.) It was actually just a fluke - they were scheduled to perform their first gig, but had no name...Todd came up with that at the spur of the moment and it stuck.

The band soon built up a following in Denver and Boulder. They toured extensively throughout the Mountain States and West Coast of the United States in their van dubbed "The Colonel", which clocked up over 400,000 miles.

In 1989, the band formed Big Records and released their first album, Another Mayberry. Midnight Radio was released the following year. In 1993, they signed with Giant Records and recorded Sister Sweetly. This album went platinum and spawned three singles that made the rock charts including "Bittersweet", "Circle" and "Brokenhearted Saviour".

Bittersweet


Broken Hearted Savior


Circle


Mohr produced the next album Strategem released in 1994. It reached #30 on the Billboard album charts but didn't sell as well as its predecessors due to the lack of a hit single from the album.

The band also contributed the song Tangerine to the 1995 Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.

Jerry Harrison, formerly of the Talking Heads, produced the next album released in 1997. Blues legend John Lee Hooker was recording an album in the same studio and played with the band on a version of his best-known song "Boom Boom". Rob Squires described the recording of the track on the band's website. "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio." Bernie Worrell, formerly of P-Funk, played keyboards on the albums title track "Beautiful World". The album spawned two hit singles on the rock charts namely "Boom Boom" and "Resignation Superman". The Live Monsters album followed in 1998.

In the Morning


Resignation Superman


Please Don't Tell Her


Todd and the boys are still recording and touring today. Check out their official site for more information.

Hillary Clinton slams Democratic activists

At a small closed-door fundraiser after Super Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton blamed what she called the "activist base" of the Democratic Party -- and MoveOn.org in particular -- for many of her electoral defeats, saying activists had "flooded" state caucuses and "intimidated" her supporters, according to an audio recording of the event obtained by The Huffington Post.

"Moveon.org endorsed [Sen. Barack Obama] -- which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down," Clinton said to a meeting of donors. "We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me."

Clinton's remarks depart radically from the traditional position of presidential candidates, who in the past have celebrated high levels of turnout by party activists and partisans as a harbinger for their own party's success -- regardless of who is the eventual nominee -- in the general election showdown.

The comments also contradict Clinton's previous statements praising this year's elevated Democratic turnout in primaries and caucuses, and appear to blame her caucus defeats on newly energized grassroots voter groups that she has lauded in the past as "lively participants" in American democracy.

Anti Drug War Ad Turns 3 AM Ad On Hillary Clinton

A recent web advertisement has turned around Hillary's original 3 AM ad and turned it into a powerful call for the New York senator to address New York's harsh and discriminatory drug laws:

How old IS John McCain?

Suddenly I feel much younger after watching this video! Hat tip to the Padster:

Edward Lorenz has died at 90

Edward Norton Lorenz, the mathematician and meteorologist responsible for the term "butterfly effect" has died from cancer at age 90. A pioneer of chaos theory, Lorenz built a mathematical model of the way air moves around in the atmosphere.

As he studied weather patterns he realized that they didn't always change as predicted. Minute variations in the initial values of variables in his twelve variable computer weather model would result in grossly divergent weather patterns. This sensitive dependence on initial conditions came to be known as the butterfly effect.

Lorenz went on to explore the underlying mathematics and published his conclusions in a seminal work titled Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow, in which he described a relatively simple system of equations that resulted in a pattern of infinite complexity now known as the Lorenz attractor.

He was awarded the Kyoto Prize in 1991 and cited for "profoundly influencing a wide range of basic sciences and brought about one of the most dramatic changes in mankind’s view of nature since Sir Isaac Newton."

Lorenz is survived by daughters Cheryl, of Eugene, Ore., Nancy of Roslindale, Mass; a son, Edward of Grasse, France; and four grandchildren. His wife, Jane, died in 2001.

Dr. Lorenz remained active almost to the end of his life, in both research and outdoor activities.

“He was out hiking two and one-half weeks ago,” Cheryl Lorenz said, “and he finished a paper a week ago with a colleague.”

Last night . . .

. . .talkin' 'bout last night. Barack Obama does just that at a North Carolina rally today:

In God We Trust - Florida style

No IGWiT's in the Sunshine State - just I Believe'rs:

For perhaps the first time in recent history, Florida has gotten something right. Miami Democrat Representative Ed Bullard, a supporter of the new plate, one of four with religious themes, concedes that ''some people'' may find something wrong with it, but he said it was a license plate for those people who may want something other than a plate that has a manatee or picture of the Challenger space shuttle.

No, Eddie, despite all of the guffaws over the 2000 presidential election, butterfly ballots, and unapproved early primary dates, you and your fellow supporters of these plates have actually gotten this one right. As with any other "specialty plate", your state is charging an extra fee for these tags. As it should. The $25 fee will go to an Orlando based non-profit group that will use it for faith-based education for Floridian youth. Nicely done.

You see, here in our fine state, our legislature decided to produce similar plates and distribute them at no extra charge to residents. In fact, these plates were actively pushed by our DMV - workers were instructed to "sell" them at every opportunity. Did I mention that these new plates cost more to produce than the standard issue plates and that the extra cost was passed on to Indiana taxpayers whether they approved of, or desired to obtain, the plates for their own vehicle? I guess I just did.

Anyways, Florida, I just wanted to give you an "attaboy!" for getting this right. By the way, if you are open to trading players from our respective state legislators. . .call me. (wink)

Bitter as hell in Pennsylvania

From Salon:

Shawn Erfman lives in a trailer park, listens to Rush Limbaugh and voted for George W. Bush -- twice. Over the weekend, he heard all about what Barack Obama had to say about "bitter" Pennsylvanians like himself. And he's mad as hell.

Not at the guy you might expect, though. "It's fucking true," he said Monday night. "Everybody's bitter for one reason or another. So they're crucifying him because he spoke the truth? Cause he's not saying something that's going to suck up to people and kiss ass? Because, what, he slipped and accidentally spoke the truth, instead of kissing butt?"

A 37-year-old mechanic for a construction company, Erfman won't be voting Republican this time around. While he isn't a registered Democrat and can't vote in next week's primary, he'd be happy to go for Obama in November. (Or Hillary Clinton, for that matter.) "I do like him, I think that he would be a change," Erfman said. "Believe it or not, I voted for Bush. See where that got me?" But when you get right down to it, Erfman -- like many of his neighbors -- doesn't see much chance of any politician really doing a lot to help the dwindling middle class in northeastern Pennsylvania. "It doesn't make a difference who I go vote for, whoever gets in is going to see fit to try to make it go their way," Erfman said. His wife, Heidi, felt the same way. "Can I vote for Mickey Mouse?" she asked.

Get the rest of the story HERE.

John McCain - "Out of Touch"

Here's the first ad being run against John McCain by Progressive Media U.S.A., the new pro-Dem third-party group headed by David Brock that's planning to raise $40 million to bloody up the GOP nominee in advance of this fall's election...

Obama - "Response"

Obama has released the following ad in Pennsylvania to answer Clinton's latest attack there regarding "bittergate":

"Response"


Some Democrats in Pennsylvania's Rust Belt communities were upset by Barack Obama's suggestion that voters there "cling to guns or religion" because of bitterness about their economic lot. But many more seem to think it was no big deal - and if there's a problem it's with the political slapfest that has followed.

American Hunters and Shooters Association endorses Obama

A life long gun owner, hunter, and conservationist, former Washington Redskins football standout Ray Schoenke is the founding President of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. Ray has used his sports fame and love for hunting in his quest to improve policies and programs for gun owners. Today, Ray endorsed Barack Obama for president:

As a gun rights organization we have not come to this decision lightly. We were formed two years ago because our research shows that millions of gun owners wanted a change. They not only wanted an organization that would protect their gun rights but an organization that was also committed to the protection of their communities as well as the protection of our lands.

We reached out to the Obama campaign several weeks ago to offer our support and approval as was reported by Paul Bedard of US News and World Report.

We believe recent attacks on Senator Obama's stand on the 2nd Amendment and his commitment to our hunting and shooting heritage are unfair and American Hunters and Shooters Association is stepping up to set the record straight.

Senator Obama has clearly demonstrated his commitment to the 2nd Amendment by his vote in support of the Vitter amendment to HR 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill of 2007. This amendment prevents the Government from confiscating guns in a time of crisis or emergency.

Imagine how the citizens felt during Hurricane Katrina when government agents kicked in doors to confiscate law abiding citizens' guns at a time when they needed them the most. We know Senator Obama "gets it." To say that he is an elitist is patently ridiculous.

To hunters and shooters everywhere, Senator Obama's vote demonstrated a fundamental understanding of the meaning of the 2nd Amendment which means he recognizes the individual right of all citizens to keep and bear arms. Senator Clinton, on the hand, failed to grasp the importance of this critical issue to hunters and shooters and voted against this Amendment. She turned her back on America's gun owners.

In addition, Senator Obama's commitment to conservation and protection of our natural resources and access to public lands demonstrates to us his commitment to America's hunting and shooting heritage.

Senator Obama will be a strong and authentic voice for America's hunters and shooters and it is with great pleasure that we endorse his candidacy.

The Boss endorses Obama

From Bruce Springsteen's website:

Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

Jon Stewart on "Bittergate"

Polls - Everybody's got one

I noticed several postings on the Indiana Blogwire today regarding polls that spelled gloom and doom for Barack Obama. Now I know, like most of you, that the only poll that matters is the one that happens on election day. But I thought I'd share some highlights from another poll released today by Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg:

• The survey found the New York senator leading Barack Obama by just 5 percentage points in Pennsylvania, which votes next Tuesday. Such a margin would not give her much of a boost in the battle for the party's nomination.



• What is more, the poll found Clinton trails Obama by 5 points in Indiana, another Rust Belt state that should play to her strengths among blue-collar voters.



• In North Carolina, an Obama stronghold, he is running 13 points ahead.

The poll interviewed 623 voters in Pennsylvania, 687 in Indiana and 691 in North Carolina who were expected to cast Democratic ballots. The margin of sampling error for the findings in each state is plus or minus 4 percentage points. The telephone interviews took place Thursday through Monday, meaning the bulk were conducted just as controversy broke out over the Obama "bitterness" remark that was widely criticized as demeaning rural voters in Pennsylvania. He suggested that for some residents of small towns, their commitment to gun rights, religious faith and hostility toward foreign trade had its roots in their "bitterness" about economic hardships.

Voters were also asked about the controversy that has dogged the candidate in recent weeks: racially incendiary comments made by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., the now-retired pastor of Obama's church in Chicago. The furor prodded Obama to deliver a major speech on racial relations in America last month. In Pennsylvania, the flap seems to have marginally helped Obama more than hurt him: 24% said his handling of the issue made them think more highly of him; 15% said it made them think less highly of him; 58% said it made no difference in their views. And women voters are defecting:

One reason Clinton is struggling in Indiana and North Carolina is that a mainstay of her coalition in earlier contests -- women -- have been defecting. In Indiana, the poll found women split their vote, 35% for each candidate. In North Carolina, they favored Obama, 43% to 36%.

Looking ahead to the general election, many Democrats -- including some Clinton backers -- appear to have concluded that Obama might be in a better position to defeat McCain. In Indiana, for instance, 37% said they thought Obama would fare better against McCain in November, compared to 18% who said Clinton was more likely to beat the Republican.

"I would prefer Clinton, but Obama has less baggage to throw darts at," said Eric Beiz, a realtor in Indianapolis. "She is going to have a tough time."

Clinton also suffers from being seen as less admirable than Obama. Even in Pennsylvania, 47% of Democrats said he had more honesty and integrity, compared to 26% who thought that of Clinton.

"She doesn't tell the truth a lot," said Brannon Crace, a store manager in Frankfurt, Ind. "We've already been through the Clinton era."

In all three states, Clinton was seen as better equipped to handle trade and healthcare policy. But she does not appear to have been as persuasive in making a core argument of her campaign -- that she would be better prepared to lead the nation's military and foreign policy.

Asked who would be better as commander in chief, voters in North Carolina chose Obama, 45% to 28%; in Indiana, Obama was chosen 37% to 29%. Only in Pennsylvania did voters prefer Clinton as commander in chief, 44% to 39%.

Muncie bully suspended for three days

"Your action has resulted in significant damage to the image of Delaware County and the Republican Party".

That was Delaware County GOP Chair Kaye Whitehead's statement to voter registration official Will Statom on Monday as she suspended him without pay for three days. She also ordered Statom, 56, to pursue "anger management training." Statom claims that his attack last week on Muncie Star reporter Nick Werner (and Barry Welsh) came in part because he was outraged over an article in The Star Press had "promoted" a meeting of the Delaware County Election Board that he maintained was conducted illegally. On Monday Statom issued a letter of apology to Werner; he maintains the blow to Barry Welsh's eye was an accident.

More importantly, it now appears that all of the voter registrations in Delaware County will be processed:

Statom returned to work the day after the incident and worked briefly last weekend with other voter registration clerks and Democratic board member Margie Landers, also Democratic Party chairman, to process hundreds of registration applications from would-be voters.

On Monday, Republicans brought in a new clerk, Andrea Kuzma, to work with fellow Republican clerk Mary Kuzma to process registrations.

Landers declined to comment on Statom's suspension, but said it was not fair that Republicans were not staying late or working extra hours to process new registrations.

On Monday, Landers had volunteers Amanda Dunnuck and Shelley Lacy, the Democratic chairman's daughter, help with the registrations. Today, Democrats will add two part-time clerks and Republicans will bring in another part-time clerk to help with registrations and process voters who vote early in the election board office.

The new voters have been served, the redneck bully at least got a slap on the wrist, and Barry Welsh can only benefit from the news cycle on this story. Win-win for all of us here in the heartland!

Obama's Indiana Tour - The Video

Over the weekend, Barack wrapped up his three-day bus tour of Indiana, and it was an amazing trip.

For three days, all across Indiana, he met with folks who are hungry for change - but frustrated by a politics that never seems to listen to them.

His team put together a video of the tour. Watch it and you'll see the excitement on the ground in Indiana:

WSJ parody PO's Murdoch

What's Rupert so damned upset about?



Apparently someone played with his new toy. . .Highlights of a new parody include a full-page spread of a topless Ann Coulter (in WSJ stipple-style), a gossip section called "Page Sex.

My Wall Street Journal, a parody of the Wall Street Journal on newsstands this week to mark the April 15 tax deadline, has rankled News Corp executives so much that they're trying to make sure no one sees it. The New York Times' Richard Perez-Pena reports that a WSJ representative attempted to snatch up all the copies in the Los Angeles area, where they made public a bit ahead of schedule:

It was not supposed to go on sale until this week, but some newsstands began selling it early. Last Thursday, Alexander Laurence was working at one such stand in Los Angeles, chatting with a customer, David Metz, when, both of them say, a man in a shirt with a Journal logo asked if anyone had seen a paper that looked sort of like The Journal.

"This guy comes by all the time to bring promotional stuff for The Wall Street Journal -- bags, coin trays, stickers," Mr. Laurence said.

Sure enough, they found what he was looking for. "He grabbed them all, said, 'I need to buy all of these,' " Mr. Laurence said. "He had been going around to different stands, buying them."

The man paid with a corporate American Express card. "At first he's saying they have to make a correction or it's not supposed to be out yet," Mr. Metz said. "But then he said these are not published by The Wall Street Journal."

And yes, that video above, which shows a fake Rupert Murdoch reacting to the My WSJ news is all a part of the fun. . .

Ferrell as Bush slams Stewart

Will Ferrell dusted off his George W. Bush impersonation Sunday night to raise money for autism education. The cause, Comedy Central's "Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit For Autism Education," was started by "Saturday Night Live" writer Robert Smigel, who's son is autistic. Ferrell, as Bush, shared reflections of his legacy with host Jon Stewart:

How history will judge Bush's presidency

By Kenneth T. Walsh of U.S. News and World Report

President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history. In 2004, only 11.6 percent of the historians rated Bush's presidency in last place. Among the reasons given for his low ratings: invading Iraq, "tax breaks for the rich," and alienating many nations around the world. Bush supporters counter that professional historians today tend to be liberal and that it's too early to assess how his policies will turn out.

You Tell Me

Welcome to Mundane morning! Have you ever noticed that words and phrases that mean one thing here might mean something totally different to someone in another place? Take, for instance, camel tow:



Since it IS "make your own caption" day, YOU tell ME!

Allentown endorses Obama

The Allentown Morning Call has endorsed Barack Obama. You know, that town full of blue collar folks offended by his straight talk about bitter feelings in the heartland. . .

Pennsylvania's Democratic voters on April 22 will choose between two candidates in the presidential primary. Both are qualified to become the nation's chief executive. They have more similarities than differences. But, The Morning Call recommends that Sen. Barack Obama be nominated, and we offer three reasons.

The first is the quality of his campaign. It has surprised the experts by moving him close to the finish line against bigger, more established political machines and it has communicated his basic ideas well.

The second is his message of hope and change. It conveys a vision of the nation's future that is in tune with the tenor and consensus of most Americans.

And third, and most important for the Democratic Party at this moment in history, there is Sen. Obama's ability to inspire.

The other Democratic candidate on the ballot here, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has focused their criticism on Sen. Obama's relatively short resume. But there is nothing naive or amateurish about the campaign he has assembled. We wish he (and Sen. Clinton) had paid more attention to the Lehigh Valley, of course. It is Pennsylvania's third-biggest metropolitan area and it deserves better than one visit by him and zero by Sen. Clinton this deep into the campaign.

But, he has done a good job of building a Pennsylvania organization. It has had to climb a steep hill, given that Sen. Clinton has the biggest share of high-profile Democratic officials' endorsements. Using the Internet, e-mail and old-fashioned storefront headquarters, he continues to build a corps of supporters here. And, at least so far, his has done a better job than the Clinton campaign of keeping the campaign positive.

In fact, while both candidates are members of the same U.S. Senate, Sen. Obama is the one who has distinguished himself as the better agent for changing Washington. Remember, on the issues, the differences between the Obama and Clinton platforms are thin or non-existent. He has set himself apart by enunciating a vision of a different America, one that people recognize as resting on the nation's founding principles. His vision calls upon ''the better angels of our nature'' just as Abraham Lincoln did in 1861.

Sen. Obama offers that vision to a nation that, like President Lincoln's, is divided. It is not about to set out on a literal civil war, but Republican and Democrat, young and old, conservative and liberal have much to fight about and are at each other's throats with little provocation. Finding common ground is the key, and Sen. Obama is better able to do that than Sen. Clinton. She has become a polarizing figure, an image that stems in part from the bitter partisanship of Washington during President Bill Clinton's administration. It was not for nothing that the journalist James B. Stewart called his book about the politics of those years ''Blood Sport.'' That rancor was not primarily Hillary Clinton's fault, but it is real, it persists, and her campaign so far has not dealt effectively with quelling it.

Then, there is his ability to inspire. It starts with his unmatched oratorical skills. His speech in Philadelphia on March 18 about race in America will join the greatest speeches in this nation's history in future textbooks on that topic. The combination of his scholarship, career experience and personal style leaves listeners at first rapt and then inspired. His oratory soars because he has a desire to listen to and represent all Americans -- the ''vision thing'' as President George H.W. Bush once called it. Sen. Clinton, by contrast, too often just sounds like a partisan, and that isn't change.

Sen. Clinton has made much of her ''ability to lead'' on day one in the Oval Office. Past experience like hers is one thing, but leadership also depends on having a vision, plans to pursue that vision, and an ability to inspire others to follow. On those grounds, Sen. Barack Obama is well-suited to lead, and The Morning Call recommends his nomination in the Democratic primary.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama: Great minds think alike?

Nico Pitney reports:

As the rumination continues over Barack Obama's comments about economically depressed small town voters, statements made by Bill Clinton on the same topic,uttered while he was running for president in 1991, have now surfaced.

"The reason (George H. W. Bush's tactic) works so well now is that you have all these economically insecure white people who are scared to death," Clinton was quoted saying by the Los Angeles Times in September 1991.

A couple months later, Joe Klein, writing for the Sunday Times, reported that Clinton made the following remarks:

"You know, he [Bush] wants to divide us over race. I'm from the South. I understand this. This quota deal they're gonna pull in the next election is the same old scam they've been pulling on us for decade after decade after decade. When their economic policies fail, when the country's coming apart rather than coming together, what do they do? They find the most economically insecure white men and scare the living daylights out of them. They know if they can keep us looking at each other across a racial divide, if I can look at Bobby Rush and think, Bobby wants my job, my promotion, then neither of us can look at George Bush and say, 'What happened to everybody's job? What happened to everybody's income? What ... have ... you ... done ... to ... our ... country?'"

Compare these remarks to Obama's statement, reported by Mayhill Fowler for Huffington Post's OffTheBus:

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter). [...]

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

What Hillary's saying RIGHT NOW:

DAMN it, Bill!

Hillary's just a "good ol' girl"

Or is she channeling Dick Cheney??

While touring the Hoosier State yesterday, Hillary Clinton put on her "good 'ol girl" act" touting her experience with guns and hunting to crowds around the state. Clinton sucked up to "gun-toting liberals" on Saturday by hinting that she has some experience of her own pulling triggers. No mention of whether or not she was "packing" during her hair-raising mission to Bosnia.

And, as usual, she used the occasion to twist Barack Obama's statement on Friday regarding the bitterness and hopelessness many feel here in the rust belt in an attempt to sway voters. It seems to me that Hillary doesn't have much to say these days, so she instead pounces on every statement uttered by Obama that she feels she can spin into votes for her:

"I disagree with Sen. Obama's assertion that people in our country cling to guns and have certain attitudes about trade and immigration simply out of frustration," she began, referring to the Obama comments on small-town Americans that set off a political tumult on Friday.

She then introduced a fond memory from her youth.

"You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught be how to shoot when I was a little girl," she said. "You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It's part of culture. It's part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it's an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter."

Clinton said she has hunted ducks.

Later in the day, Clinton visited a restaurant in Crown Point, Indiana and shared a shot of whiskey with the locals:

Clinton stood by the bar and took a shot of Crown Royal whiskey. She took one sip of the shot, then another small sip, then a few seconds later threw her head back and finished off the whole thing. Clinton later sat down at a table and enjoyed some pizza and beer, and called over Mayor Tom McDermott of Hammond, Ind., to come join the table.

"Every time I get around you we start drinking, senator," the mayor exclaimed. Clinton nodded and raised her glass. "It's Saturday night, though, Tom," she said.

So, in summary, the elite Clinton would have you believe that she's a regular ol' gun carrying gal who likes to hang around the bar and do shots. Right. . .
Just what we need in a president, emulation of Dick Cheney and pandering to the worst in people.

Come and Go with me

The Codependents' Commode:

Honey. . .I've been thinking, and. . .although we spend alot of time together, something just seems to be missing. I don't wanna see our relationship go to waste. Wait a minute. . .that's it! I DO want that; so rather than SAY "toodaloo", I BOUGHT a TwoDaLoo to express my true feeling for you, POOkie. . .

Environmentalism has never been so intimate as with the TwoDaLoo, billed as the world's first simultaneous-flush two-seater toilet. The side-by-siders can be emptied individually or in a single 2.6-gallon-saving flush. With a "privacy wall" and LCD television and iPod docking station add-ons, couples (and, perhaps, just good friends) will enjoy doing double duty for Planet Earth. About $1400;

I'll be the first to admit that I'm the "clingy" type in a relationship, but I have absolutely NO interest in being the "cling on" type! Some things are best left alone, and colon purges are right at the top of that list. When I "take a seat" I prefer to be by myself. . .

Obama in Muncie

A chili story. . .

I went grocery shopping recently while not being altogether sure that course of action was a wise one. You see, the previous evening I had prepared and consumed a massive quantity of my patented ‘You’re definitely going to shit yourself’ chili. Tasty stuff, albeit hot to the point of being painful, which comes with a written guarantee from me that if you eat the next day both of your a$$ cheeks WILL fall off.

Here’s the thing. I had awakened that morning, and even after two cups of coffee (and all of you know what I mean) nothing happened. No ‘Watson’s Movement 2′.

Despite habanera peppers swimming their way through my intestinal tract, I appeared to be unable to create the usual morning symphony referred to by my next door neighbors as thunder and lightning.

Knowing that a time of reckoning had to come, yet not sure of just when, I bravely set off for the market; a local Wal-Mart grocery store that I often haunt in search of tasty tidbits.

Upon entering the store at first all seemed normal. I selected a cart and began pushing it about dropping items in for purchase. It wasn’t until I was at the opposite end of the store from the restrooms that the pain hit me. Oh, don’t look at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m referring to that ‘Uh oh, gotta go’ pain that always seems to hit us at the wrong time. The thing is, this pain was different.

The habaneras in the chili from the night before were staging a revolt. In a mad rush for freedom they bullied their way through the small intestines, forcing their way into the large intestines, and before I could take one step in the direction of the restrooms which would bring sweet relief, it happened. The peppers fired a warning shot.

There I stood, alone in the spice and baking aisle, suddenly enveloped in a noxious cloud the likes of which has never before been recorded. I was afraid to move for fear that more of this vile odor might escape me. Slowly, oh so slowly, the pressure seemed to leave the lower part of my body, and I began to move up the aisle and out of it, just as an elderly woman turned into it.

I don’t know what made me do it, but I stopped to see what her reaction would be to the malodorous effluvium that refused to dissipate, as she walked into it unsuspecting. Have you ever been torn in two different directions emotionally? Here’s what I mean, and I’m sure some of you at least will be able to relate.

I could’ve warned that poor woman but didn’t. I simply watched as she walked into an invisible, and apparently indestructible, wall of odor so terrible that all she could do before gathering her senses and running, was to stand there blinking and waving her arms about her head as though trying to ward off angry bees. This, of course, made me feel terrible, but then made me laugh. Mistake.

Here’s the thing. When you laugh, it’s hard to keep things ‘clamped down’, if you know what I mean. With each new guffaw an explosive issue burst forth from my nether region. Some were so loud and echoing that I was later told a few folks in other aisles had ducked, fearing that someone was robbing the store and firing off a shotgun.

Suddenly things were no longer funny. IT was coming, and I raced off through the store towards the restrooms, laying down a cloud the whole way, praying that I’d make it before the grand mal assplosion took place.

Luck was on my side. Just in the nick of time I got to the john, began the inevitable ‘Oh my God’, floating above the toilet seat because my ass is burning SO BAD, purging.

One poor fellow walked in while I was in the middle of what is the true meaning of ‘Shock and Awe’. He made a gagging sound, and disgustedly said, ‘Sonofabitch!’, then quickly left.

Once finished I left the restroom, reacquired my partially filled cart intending to carry on with my shopping when a store employee approached me and said, ‘Sir, you might want to step outside for a few minutes. It appears some prankster set off a stink bomb in the store. The manager is going to run the vent fans on high for a minute or two which ought to take care of the problem.’

That of course set me off again, causing residual gases to escape me. The employee took one sniff, jumped back pulling his shirt up to cover his nose and, pointing at me in an accusing manner shouted, ‘IT’S YOU!’, then ran off returning moments later with the manager. I was unceremoniously escorted from the premises and asked none too kindly not to return.

Home again without having shopped, I realized that there was nothing to eat but leftover chili, so I consumed two more bowls. The next day I went to shop at Albertson’s. I can’t say anymore about that because we are in court over the whole matter. Bastards claim they’re going to have to repaint the store..

Rocky who?

In connection with the upcoming Pennsylvania Primary, Hillary Clinton recently compared herself to Rocky Balboa. We beg to differ...

Obama "gets" the heartland

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are desperately attacking Barack Obama over the following comments made yesterday regarding our situation here in the heartland:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Watch this CNN segment where Gloria Borger, Jack Cafferty, and Jeffrey Toobin all defended the comments:

Ice Ice . . .Busted!

Robert Van Winkle, better known forgotten as Vanilla Ice, was arrested yesterday at his Florida home after an alleged altercation with his wife. Wasn't this guys five minutes over like 20 years ago?

According to the arrest report, the 39-year-old rapper's wife called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office saying he had kicked and hit her. She later told deputies he had only pushed her.

Van Winkle was also arrested in 2001 on charges of assaulting his wife. He pled guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to probation as well as family therapy sessions.

"What it's like. . .dunt dunt. . .beating a roney"!

Friday Nite Retro

Welcome to Friday Nite Retro! Tonight's featured group was formed by a duo of college students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1992. Jason Ross and Jason Pollock later added drummer Giti Khalsa and bassist Casey Daniel and the foursome played coffeehouses and clubs throughout the Southeast as Seven Mary Three.

According to the band, they came up with the name one day while sitting around watching the 70's police drama CHiPs on TV.'7 Mary 3' was the call sign for character Officer Jon Baker(Larry Wilcox).7M3: police radio call sign; 7 designates the patrol beat, M for Mary designates that he is a motorcycle unit and 3 is his unit number.

The band's 1994 album Churn, a self-produced indie release garnered the band airplay on an FM station in Orlando, Florida for the future hit single "Cumbersome". Given this minor success, the band relocated to the Orlando area where they continued to expand their fan base. This regional success soon caught the attention of major-label scouts. The band signed with Mammoth and rerecorded the songs on Churn, plus two new ones, to create the commercially successful American Standard.

Only seven months after its release, American Standard achieved platinum status (1,000,000 copies sold). This accomplishment can certainly be attributed to the success of "Cumbersome".

Cumbersome


Water's Edge


Their 1998 album, Orange Ave., produced one of my favorite songs by the group. I was unable to find a video for it, but the guys covering it here do it justice!

Over Your Shoulder


Seven Mary Three is still together and touring today. Check out their official site for more info!

Update on Hobbes

I wanted to post an update for those who have been inquiring about Hobbes. His condition improved each day this week, but we scheduled him with the vet today just to be on the safe side.

The prognosis: he's going to be just fine. No infections, but he does have a fractured jaw. The vet informed me that, in this case, it was no cause for concern as he greedily ate from the can of food he was offered!

Sometimes the fracture is bad enough of a certain type that the animal can't properly move the jaw or only do so with pain. We'll keep him on soft food for a week or so and monitor his transition back. He also had a case of ear mites, which they treated. And he was slightly dehydrated. The doctor gave him a subcutaneous fluids injection to hedge the bet. Hobbes was a trooper throughout, and the doc said his heart and lungs sounded great from what he could hear through all of the purring! The only time he struggled was when his temperature was taken, understandably. Turns out cats don't enjoy anal probes, either!!

Barry Welsh: What happened in Muncie

Barry posted the following diary this afternoon on Kos, and kindly asked that I cross-post it here as well. It is my pleasure to do so:

Yes, I got hit in the eye, but the real fight is for Democracy IN-06

First, I want to thank everybody in the Kos community and all of the Netroots Nation for the support and well wishes that have come my way because of this incident. I must give a HUGE personal thank you to sarahlane, pontio, bluestatemeant, JR, Daily Activist, Pioneer 111, along
with everyone for their comments, and the great folks at EENR and Democrats.com.

Now, the story that has not been told is what happened in that meeting. Everything has been overshadowed by the violence, and what took place in the meeting itself needs to come out.

The story is not dying locally as the attacker is in the Muncie paper today calling the attack an “attention getter”.

"It (the attack on Werner) wouldn't have happened if you hadn't promoted it," Statom said. "When you promote illegal activities, there's ramifications." He is blaming the newspaper! I feel the truth is, Statom was trying to stop the newspaper from reporting on what he said, and his tone in the meeting itself.

The meeting was called because the Republican County Chair of Delaware County told Ball State Students and supporters of Barack Obama, that the voter registrations they had turned in on time could not be counted and processed because of understaffing. The understaffing was because the Republican county chair had not appointed anyone to fill a vacancy since 2006! The Republican county chair was not at the meeting and sent a proxy who attempted to bully the process and argue semantics. I was at the meeting on requests from Ball Sate Students and African American activists who were concerned for their rights and the those that they had registered.

Mr. Statom, who launched the attack after the meeting, spoke during the meeting as well. Statom said the Ball State registrations should not be a concern because the students wouldn’t vote anyway. Then he focused on the African American community members in attendance and said, “I don’t have to sit here and listen to THESE people.” It was the way that the words came out and all in attendance knew what he was actually saying. I was so offended by his tone
and remarks that I spontaneously stood up along with many others in objection and disgust. Statom said the forms would probably all be sloppy and illegible and that this was a big to do over nothing.

For point of clarity, there were close to 2000 new registrations turned in on that last day alone, and 25 of them were Republican. Motive for inaction? You be the judge on that but I have my opinion and there is no doubt in my mind.

The registration forms need to be processed by April 15th to allow enough time to have the precinct voter files and voter ID books printed so there is a real and just time frame concern. I have been assured that all registrations will be processed on time, but I am going to be continuing to check on a daily basis to make certain.

The reporter that was attacked, Nick Wermer, called me this morning and he is doing ok. He told me that he didn’t remember much because it happened so fast and was a blur, but he remembered the determination on my face when I was trying to break the choke hold and he said Mike Pence may advocate shield laws for the press but Barry Welsh went to the floor for me and I won ’t forget that. He said I was a hero, and while that is heartwarming, I am not the hero. The heroes are those students and members of the African American community that spent all of that time bringing new people into the political process and I again thank all of them.

The republicans are scared here folks! They are now even scared of me. The guy that runs low budget, grass roots, people powered campaigns. We have raised some money from 5, 10, 20, and 100 dollar donors, and thank you to all of you that have made that happen. If you are reading this and can contribute the pre primary maximum of $2,300 dollars, please consider doing so. If 50 of you can contribute the maximum, and we raise $100,000 dollars this weekend over what happened, the fear will increase 100,000 times, and I think they deserve that! Here’s an Actblue link.

Here are links to previous diaries and also to media coverage, even Fox!

dailykos.com/story/2008/4/9
dailykos.com/story/2008/4/9
dailykos.com/story/2008/4/9
dailykos.com/story/2008/4/10
theindychannel.com
thestarpress.com
thestarpress.com

Tomorrow morning I am going to meet Senator Barack Obama in Muncie. I will try to get a diary up about that meeting and his event tomorrow afternoon.

I have taken much harder punches and may again, but never for a better cause than suppressed voter rights and freedom of the press. As Gandhi said, first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win. We have been ignored, and we have been laughed at, and the attacks and intimidation are under way, next step is victory in November and we can
and will do that.

Thanks again to all of you for all that you do.

Peace brothers and sisters,

Barry Welsh.

Randi Rhodes on Larry King

Randi describes why she left Air America:



Richard Belzer will fill Randi Rhodes' 3pm-6pm time slot on Air America all next week. Belzer is also a stand-up comedian. . .ought-oh. . .

The Angry John McCain Song

Obama Girl Offended

Nice satire of Chelsea by Amber:

Pour Some Sugar in Me

That's the tune your car may be singing to you in the near future. While we all know revenge stories consisting of someone pouring sugar into an enemy's gas tank to ruin their engine, researchers have actually found a way to generate hydrogen directly from plant sugar. The hydrogen could provide a more environmentally friendly fuel cell power source.

Biochemical engineer Dr Percival Zhang, who leads the development team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, US, said: "This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually. A sugar fueled car would be inherently safe because its hydrogen is used immediately, added Zhang,"it would also be cheaper and cleaner to run than even the most efficient petrol-driven car."

Unlike current bio-fuels, consisting of ethanol made by fermenting plant material, and burned in traditional internal combustion engines as alternatives to petrol and diesel, this new process involves combining plant sugars, water, and a cocktail of powerful enzymes - biological catalysts - to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Instead of a gas station, one might pick up some fuel pellets while at the grocery or hardware store. Convenience stores, which rely on gas customers purchasing high-margin items inside the store, could soon go the way of full-service pumps and service stations.

Randi Rhodes leaves Air America

Talker lands on her feet at Green 960:



John Scott, Program Director of Green960, speaks out:

"We have been very frustrated the past few days in our efforts to rectify the Randi Rhodes Situation (her suspension by her network, Air America Radio). It is our understanding that today (April 9th) she is no longer an employee of Air America. So we are bringing her back."

Monday, April 14th at 4pm... it will be our pleasure to announce the return of Randi Rhodes to the Green 960 family.


Watch the video below that chronicles the timeline of the circus, and our efforts to do what's right for the vast majority of Green960 listeners that support her.

The Facts

Comments made by Randi Rhodes were made during a Green 960 Event on March 22nd. Those in attendance were required to sign up through Green960.com and paid $5 to attend. Money raised went to Green960.

This event took place at Broadway Studios in San Francisco on Saturday, March 22nd.
Green960's event was posted on My.BarackObama.com's event listings by a listener of the station as a social meetup & is no way affiliated with Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The $5 collected was for Green960.

The entire video of the event was made available through Green960 to our listeners and Randi Rhodes fans on March 26th.

Obama - "put an end to the game playing"

Obama takes on the pharmaceutical industry in this new PA ad:

Barry Welsh attacked by GOP thug!

Hat tip: Thomas

Last night I wrote about Delaware County Republicans attempts to disenfranchise 100's of new Democratic voters by claiming they "didn't have the time or resources" to go through the huge number of registrations they received on Monday, the deadline to register. There was to be an emergency hearing today at 1 PM at the County Building in Muncie.

That meeting took place, and turned heated afterwards:

A Republican voter registration deputy faces battery charges after he tackled a newspaper reporter and hit the Democratic 6th District congressional candidate after a contentious Delaware County Election Board meeting this afternoon.

The meeting had just ended when Will Statom, GOP registration deputy and secretary of the local Republican Party, attacked Star Press reporter Nick Werner while Werner was interviewing Ball State University student Johanna Perez about hundreds of last-minute voter registrations for Democrat Barack Obama's campaign.

"He did not seem very happy that we were stating our opinions," Perez said afterwards about Statom.

Werner said Statom seemed critical of his reporting, sarcastically saying to make sure he screwed up the story again.

Statom had just walked past Werner when Statom turned around and pushed Werner against the wall, grabbed him and they fell to the ground, according to witnesses.

Barry A. Welsh, Democratic 6th district congressional candidate, who attended the meeting, stepped in, and Statom turned around and hit Welsh in the eye.

"When Nick went to the floor, I tried to break it up," Welsh said.

An eyewitness to the event has stated:

I was at the meeting - it was out of control. The man who attacked everyone was accusing Ball State students of being sloppy and wouldn't even vote anyway and then said to the african americans in the crowd "i dont have to take this crap for 'you people' " ... people were yelling at each other through the entire meeting and then the fight broke out afterward. As a student, I was very surprised to see adults act so childish.

When I hear more from Barry, I'll give you his perspective on the day's events. . .

The Bush-McCain Strategy

Endless war. . .on the installment plan:

Virtual Pilot

How well do you know European geography? This little game from Lufthansa has you attempt to land your plane in European cities. There are three stages, one where the cities to choose from are shown as dots on the map, the second only shows the countries, and the final only show the European land mass. Oh, and your time gets shorter for each phase. . .bon chance!

Presidential "Idols"?

No word yet on if they're going to sing.

via: The New York Post

For the first time in any of their respective campaigns, presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain are all uniting for one cause: "American Idol." The three wanna-be Commander-in-Chiefs will each make an appearance on tonight's "Idol Gives Back" special that aims to raise funds to benefit various U.S. and international charities.

The three Senators will be joined by a cavalcade of celebrities who are all aiming to surpass the $76 million that was raised by the Emmy Award winning special last year. Miley Cyrus performs her hit song "Broken Chains" while "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood covers George Michael's "Praying for Time." But arguably the biggest star lending his wattage to the event is Brad Pitt whose sheer presence caused such an uproar in the studio, filming had to be halted while the crowd calmed down.

In fact, the guest list for "Idol Gives Back" (airing Wednesday, April 9 7:30-10:00 PM ET/PT on FOX) reads like a who's who of Hollywood. Also making appearances on the special are Victoria and David Beckham, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Alicia Keys, Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, The Jonas Brothers, Felicity Huffman, Toby Keith, Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Adams, Bono, Celine Dion, Eli and Peyton Manning, Fergie, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Connolly, John Legend, Mariah Carey and Robin Williams.