Princeton!!!!!!!

No Bust.

From my future Senator

Menendez: McCain Has Taken Sides with Hardliners and Anti-Immigrants

One of Congress' most influential Hispanic members says that John McCain "walked away" from the Latino community and is not a "person of principle" on immigration reform -- a perception that could haunt the Arizona Republican in the general election.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Sen. Robert Menendez offered a scathing rebuke of McCain, painting him as a candidate who sold his political soul to secure his party's presidential nomination.

"In my mind, he has dramatically shifted. He has really taken a Republican tact," said the New Jersey Democrat. "It seems to me, and it is out there in the community, that he walked away at a critical time. And when you take that view, which shows that he is not the person of principle that he would like to show himself being, and you wear the Republican mantle that is so negative and anti-immigrant... I think it is very hard for John McCain to make hay with Latinos at the end of the day."

During the course of the Republican primary, McCain veered away from his support of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, citing, openly, the political pressures being put on him by the conservative base.

"I understand why you would call it a, quote, shift," McCain told reporters. "I say it is a lesson learned about what the American people's priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders."

Ultimately, the move helped McCain net his party's nomination. But not without a cost. As Menendez argues, many now believe that the GOP nominee caved for political gain; something McCain's camp adamantly denies.

"Everyone knows that John McCain risked his political life to lead on the bipartisan immigration reform effort last year," his spokesperson Brian Rogers told The Huffington Post. "He bucked his party in the middle of a presidential campaign, and was attacked relentlessly for it. These cheap partisan attacks are unfortunate and absurd."

How McCain transitions on immigration during the general election could, in the end, be a major determinant of his candidacy's success. Will he try to champion his initial position, which included pathways towards citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country? Or will any move away from conservative orthodoxy be seen, as Menendez predicts, as a flip-flop-flip of historic proportions?

"The question that I would ask is: 'How are we supposed to believe you?' said Menendez. "Considering what they did to John Kerry on the question of the war, this would be much easier to do with John McCain. It would be: 'I was with you, before I was against you, before I was with you.'"

Those questions will come into sharp focus in July, when McCain is scheduled to appear before the National Council of La Raza, a pro-immigration group that took great umbrage with his adopted hard-line mentality.

"I expect him to try and dissemble and speak in ways that would lead you to the impression that we have to have comprehensive immigration reform," said Menendez. "But the question that has to be posed to him, first and foremost, is... how are we supposed to believe you in the first place, when you previously said something different? I think he's made his bed. He's tried to have it both ways and he came to the conclusion that to win the Republican primary he had to fall in bed with all the hardliners and anti-immigrants. And I think he will not successfully equivocate on this."

Menedez's critique of McCain's immigration policy is the hardest yet during the general election campaign. Various pro-immigration groups and elected officials had previously taken the Arizona Republican to task for his shifted position. But colleagues in the Senate have, by and large, kept their powder dry.

That said, Menendez wasn't 100 percent convinced that the Latino vote would break overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. While recent polling has the Illinois Democrat doing better among Hispanics than Sen. John Kerry in 2004, the numbers may not be enough to change the dynamics of the election.

"The latest poll I saw was Latinos supporting Obama over McCain by a margin of 60-40," said Menendez. "To be honest with you, we can't afford that. I think the Republicans would be happy if they go 40 percent of the Latino vote particularly in key states. If they could achieve that they will be on the road to the White House. I do think Obama will ultimately do well with Latino voters, but there is work to be done."

And what would that work be? Menendez suggested that the presumptive Democratic nominee talk to the Latinos about issues like health care and the economy, both of which disproportionately affect the Hispanic-American community. But there was a short-term solution as well.

Picking Hillary Clinton as vice president "would solidify the Latino situation immediately," said Menendez, a national co-chair of the Clinton campaign, "because she overwhelmingly had that support across the country."

Obama/Tusk '08 - Steal your grandmother's ID

In recent years, the Polish government has been dominated by identical twin brothers, Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński. Jarosław is the leader of their party, Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS).

In 2005, after serving as the mayor of Warsaw, Lech declared that he would run for President of Poland. He said that if he won and his party took control of the Sejm (Parliament), someone else besides Jarosław would serve as the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, after Lech won the Presidential election, and his party became the majority, his brother became Prime Minister anyway. The two of them led the country, pushing for a very conservative, traditional Catholic platform, including a ban on Warsaw Gay Pride parade, continued abortion bans, and a relationship with the EU marked by extreme animosity. They were often seen as the most troublesome EU member country. They wholeheartedly supported the Bush Administration, the Iraq War, the missile shield and they even traveled to the US to speak at radical Christian fundamentalist meetings. More or less, they functioned as the Bush(es) of Europe.

In late 2007, to the relief of many, the Polish government fell apart and elections were held. The lead candidate for the main opposition party, the center (perhaps even center-right) Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) was the young, affable Donald Tusk.

Tusk ran a campaign of tolerance, promising to loosen Catholicism's grasp on the Polish government, establish better relations with Germany and the EU, discuss reparations with Jews who had lost their homes during the Holocaust, push tolerance (perhaps even for same-sex couples, something unheard of in Polish government), revisit the decision to allow the US to build a missile defense system near the Ukrainian border and withdraw Polish troops from Iraq.

Now for the fun. It was extremely exciting for a country still reeling from the end of the Cold War. The older generations were afraid of some of the changes pushed by Tusk, while the younger generation and the urbanites cheered in delight. Tusk even had the foresight to travel to England to campaign where over a million Poles now work to make ends meet. He was reaching out to the industrious, educated youth. Again, sound familiar?

In the lead up to election day, young Poles created a plethora of youtube videos, advertisements and songs, and used mass text messages to promote their candidate for change. The massive generation gap made it clear that the GOTV campaign for the younger generation was the only hope for Donald Tusk. The advertisements took this into account.

There were joke ads about how the twins would switch places without anyone else knowing and that's why their administration was in such disarray.
Kaczyński is derived from the word "kaczka", which means "duck", so some ads mocked the election as "Donald vs. the Ducks".

The best ad encouraged young people to "Steal your grandmother's ID", thus allowing the youth vote to reign and running one of the Ducks out of office. While the ruling government fumed, the young people laughed and fought on. And Tusk won! After a few days of pouting, Lech admitted his brother's loss and Poland was rid of one Duck.

Now, only backwards Lech remains as President, while tolerant, young Tusk and his centrist party start moving Poland forward. And Poland, Europe and the world breathed a sigh of relief! Sound vaguely familiar?

Perhaps in the states where ID is required (Indiana, right?), we can encourage the same thing to stop the out-of-touch McCain:

Obama '08 - Steal your grandmother's ID

We can only dream, because in reality that's disenfranchisement..... hehe.

a nytimes article on the subject if you're interested

Congratulations!

Congratulation Barack Hussein Obama and family!

I am extremely proud of our nation today.

It's on to Washington, President Obama. Hail to the Chief!

Do not go gentle....

into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Hang in there Mr. Kennedy.......

Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal in CA!

"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual's sexual orientation -- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights." -CA Supreme Court

She's done! (from Der Spiegel)

CLINTON IM AUS

Das Ende einer Ära

Die frühere First Lady hat hoch gepokert. Und verloren. Wenn nicht noch ein Wunder geschieht, ist Barack Obama der Kandidat der Demokraten - in einem dramatischen Finale wurde heute Nacht die Ära Clinton beendet.

CLINTON IS DONE

The End of an Era

The earlier First Lady bet everything. And she lost. Unless a miracle occurs, Barack Obama is the Democratic candidate for president - in a dramatic finish, today signals the end of the Clinton Era.

I do not understand.

I just finished reading my Christmas present from Agnieszka, "Inny świat" (or "Another World") by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (written as Gustav Herling on the jacket....) It is his account of his life in the GULAG (a word which happens to be an acronym for Главное Управление Исправительно-Трудовых Лагерей и колоний, ГУЛАГ, Glavnoye Upravlyeniye ispravitel'no-trudovich LAGeryei i kolonii or Main Administration for Corrective Labor Camps and Colonies...... and actually refers to the prison system rather than the prisons themselves.....).

He ends the book with an amazing epilogue. He has been released from the prison as part of a much-belated general amnesty for Poles after the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement that allied Poland with the USSR against the Germans in 1941. He joined the Polish Army and, after the war, ended up in Rome. He was working at a government newspaper when he was approached by a former Polish Jewish cellmate, who had a similar story. The man had been the prisoner that announced the Fall of Paris to Gustaw in 1940. It signaled the end of all hope for the prisoners.... The then allied Germans and Russians had effectively conquered Europe; only London was left. The Poles would never be freed...... This man had been released under the same agreement as Gustaw, joined the Red Army, was injured, joined the Polish army and stormed Warsaw. There, he found all of his extended family dead, and he escaped to Italy.

Now, at the end, he has come to Gustaw for help. He wants to tell him a story of his life in the zone (what they call the GULAG), to which he would like Gustaw to simply reply "I understand". His story is that he was taken from a reasonable job in the zone and worked ragged in the Siberian forest for a few months. He was then taken before 4 of his fellow prisoners, Germans. The authorities wanted him to sign a statement claiming that he had heard the Germans discussing the impending fall of Moscow to Hitler. If he did as much, he would be allowed to leave the forest and go back to his previous, comparatively cushy, engineering job. He chose to sign the statement. He then heard the four Germans get shot.

Our hero Gustaw mulls the story over, remembering the depravity and horror to which he was driven, while in the zone. He decides that he has to make a similar choice to that of his friend. He can help his friend by condoning his actions and thus suffer -- this would mean reentering the realm of altered morals and lack of humanity that had existed during their incarceration -- or he can choose to escape this fate and remain a human being.

From the end of the book, after his friend has finished his story and is hoping for his "I understand":

'The choice was the same: it had been his life or the lives of the four Germans, now it was his peace or mine. No, I could not say it.
"Well?" he asked quietly.
I got up from the bed and without looking him in the eyes walked over to the window. With my back to the room I heard him going out and gently closing the door. I pushed the blind up. On the Piazza Colonna a cool breath of afternoon air had straightened the passers-by, as it would a field of corn bowed to the ground by drought. Drunk American and English soldiers walked along the pavements, pushing the Italians aside, picking up girls, looking for shade under the striped awnings of shops. Under the pillars of the corner house the black market was in full swing. The Roman "lazzaroni", small ragged war-children, dived in and out between the legs of enormous negroes in American uniforms. The war had ended a month ago. Rome was free, Brussels was free, Oslo was free, Paris was free. Paris, Paris, Paris....
I watched him as he walked out of the hotel, tripped across the road like a bird with a broken wing, and disappeared in the crowd without looking back.
The End'

Amazing book. Thank you Agnieszka.

Tonight I met Cindy Sheehan

(Welcome to my first diary on DailyKos..... so far, including my contributions, I have 38 comments and 17 recs.)
I live in CA-8, Nancy Pelosi’s district. In fact, I live right in the middle of downtown San Francisco. I see, literally every day, some of the ills of gentrification, as well as the high-rise development in downtown and the dire situation of drug use and homelessness that plagues our nation. I have lived in and traveled all over Europe, and I’ve never seen the devastation of the San Francisco Tenderloin.

I have been following this presidential race obsessively, first cheering for Obama, then Edwards, then Clinton, then Obama again, then Clinton again, then Edwards again, and finally Obama. Now, without any reservations, I am strongly behind Obama. I currently live in CA-8, but will soon be moving to central NJ.
Tonight, however, I faced one of the most interesting tests in the development of my political thought. I grew up in suburban Phoenix, believing in Bill Clinton due to my parents, reading Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky and listening to Rage Against the Machine and hardcore. I was the stereotypical simplistic radical teenager. I voted for Ralph Nader (and not only do I stand by my vote, I challenge anyone to convince me that Nader is to blame, rather than the US Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court, the Republican Party, George W. Bush, the Democratic Party, Al Gore, the media, etc. etc). Yet, I heard Democrats claiming that by supporting a Green, I had betrayed the Democratic Party. I had to remind them that the Democratic Party was only the answer insofar as it represented my views..... and Gore had not.
Finally though, I went to Berkeley and watched my (theoretical) wing of the Democratic Party grow and come into conflict with the moderates on one side and those prone to radical ignorance on the other. I strongly pushed for social programs, for civil liberties and for tolerance. Those were my biggest concerns and issues. I finally became a Democrat.
Then, the war came. I was told, by two Japanese friends of my girlfriend, almost with glee, "your country just bombed Iraq". I cried at the University Health Center, watching pictures of "shock and awe". I had opposed both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. I was disappointed in us, the people of the US. I loved my East Bay representative Barbara Lee for her contributions to our country. Yet nobody listened. And people died.
Suddenly, Cindy Sheehan came forward and spoke on behalf of her son. He was killed for an embarrassing, horrifying and destructive war. I saw her as a person in more than legitimate pain for the loss of a family member. Then, I saw her lampooned by the media. She was called crazy, delusional, an anti-Semite, etc. I began to ignore her.....
But it was entirely unfair. Tonight, she held a fundraiser in San Francisco for her campaign to take on Nancy Pelosi for the CA-8 seat in 2008. I watched her discuss her points. I didn’t think she represented her angle well. She sounded like a naïve groupie who was preaching to the choir. BUT then she started discussing Iraq. The obscenities started to fly. She was no longer the friendly, understanding person who had begun the discussion. Her passion overwhelmed me. I FELT her point. Here was a woman who had been completely devastated by the disastrous policies of my government and she was lashing out, screaming, "LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!"
Despite the errors of the activists that represent the left, we need to hear the voice of people like Cindy Sheehan. As much as we try to theorize about the political aspects of our current or future administrations, we are not allowed to fail to understand that people’s lives are at stake. Not just Cindy Sheehan’s son. Also: the children of countless others whose kids/parents/boyfriends/girlfriends/brothers/sisters are dying in Iraq; the Iraqis who’ve died by the hundreds of thousands; the victims of Hurricane Katrina who died, suffered and continue to suffer while our government just sits; low-income families who have to live with little income and no health insurance, and countless, COUNTLESS, other victims that I’m too angry to be able to name.
In the end, I don’t support Cindy Sheehan’s candidacy, because I don’t think she has the knowledge to lead our country. However, I have to say, and I want to repeat, ad infinitum, that her grievances are real, that the grievances of all our citizens are real...... and that this election is the fight of our lives.... THE FIGHT... OF OUR LIVES. This could be the twilight of our nation, and it is up to us to pull it back from despair, if only to preserve it for another generation of two. I’m sure you know whom I will be voting for. I hope you do the same. If you need a little guidance, think of those like Cindy Sheehan.

This editorial is perfect

From the NYTimes

The Low Road to Victory

Published: April 23, 2008

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.

On the eve of this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the narrator intoned.

If that was supposed to bolster Mrs. Clinton’s argument that she is the better prepared to be president in a dangerous world, she sent the opposite message on Tuesday morning by declaring in an interview on ABC News that if Iran attacked Israel while she were president: “We would be able to totally obliterate them.”

By staying on the attack and not engaging Mr. Obama on the substance of issues like terrorism, the economy and how to organize an orderly exit from Iraq, Mrs. Clinton does more than just turn off voters who don’t like negative campaigning. She undercuts the rationale for her candidacy that led this page and others to support her: that she is more qualified, right now, to be president than Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama is not blameless when it comes to the negative and vapid nature of this campaign. He is increasingly rising to Mrs. Clinton’s bait, undercutting his own claims that he is offering a higher more inclusive form of politics. When she criticized his comments about “bitter” voters, Mr. Obama mocked her as an Annie Oakley wannabe. All that does is remind Americans who are on the fence about his relative youth and inexperience.

No matter what the high-priced political operatives (from both camps) may think, it is not a disadvantage that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton share many of the same essential values and sensible policy prescriptions. It is their strength, and they are doing their best to make voters forget it. And if they think that only Democrats are paying attention to this spectacle, they’re wrong.

After seven years of George W. Bush’s failed with-us-or-against-us presidency, all American voters deserve to hear a nuanced debate — right now and through the general campaign — about how each candidate will combat terrorism, protect civil liberties, address the housing crisis and end the war in Iraq.

It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs.

A loss of 8.6% is painful because the monster can spin it.

Will everyone please stop representing this race as if the two sides are equal? Hillary's attacks are disgusting. Obama's main left-field attack on Hillary was that she did, in fact, lie about Bosnia.

Her attacks on him?
1) He's a Muslim (Farrakhan, Hamas newsletter, picture in African garb, her answer of "I have no evidence of that" rather than "no" when asked if he's a Muslim)

2) He is soft of terrorism/he is a terrorist (9/11, Weather Underground, 9/11, Muslim, anti-American preacher, OH, and 9/11)

3) He's an arrogant elitist who hates guns and religion.

So, to my understanding, he's an elite terrorist Muslim, who hates religion and has a crazy Christian pastor.

What do I think the Democrats should do? I think they should elect Obama, the Democrat in the race, before our neo-con/neo-lib (yes both) friend Clinton destroys our party, allows McCain to use her attacks on Obama, the clear nominee, and causes more war, more tax-cuts for the rich, abortion bans, homophobia, basically the end of our constitution and thus any meaningful USA.......

Let's face it. It's Obama, or the destruction of our country. Here's a hint: Hillary is not Obama.

Hillary performed marvelously tonight on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars"

With tonight's disgusting debate, ABC joins the FOX ranks. CNN is headed in that direction. What is happening to our media? This is truly frightening.......

From the Huffington Post:, a little sum up of the questions from the first half of the debate:

Both: "Any chance at a "Dream Ticket?"
Obama: "Bitter, much?"
Both: "Do you think your opponent stands a chance against McCain?"
Obama: "What about Reverend Wright?"
Obama: "Wait. I have an even stupider question about Reverend Wright."
Hillary: "Seriously. Who were you fooling with that Bosnia shizz?"
Obama: "Hey, Hussein! Why no American flag lapel pin?"
Obama: "Hey, Sean Hannity wanted me to ask you something, Barack! I got a question on the Weather Underground! Maybe later we'll talk about the Symbionese Liberation Army!"

You'll notice that of these 8 questions, 7 were directed at Obama and 3 at Hillary. Obama got 5 attacking "gotcha" questions and Hillary got 1.

When did Hillary Clinton become part of the "vast right-wing conspiracy" (she means fascism/corporatism)?

Then she attempted to link Obama to Hamas, referring to a pretty sanguine article written by a major Hamas figure, featured on a page of the bulletin from Obama's church....... My god. And Farrakhan again?!?! Hillary really wants us to think he's Muslim.

I'm starting to truly think that if Hillary manages to destroy Obama with attacks and somehow magically pulls this off (incredibly) unlikely, I will not vote at all. Will she be any better than McCain?

I truly think Hillary does not care at all about this country, peace, women's rights, etc. She's trying to hand the Supreme Court to the fascists on a platter. Goodbye abortion rights! What a f!$§ing deplorable person. I think I'll move to a liberal country, like Poland (ha).

Like Billie Joe said......

Phoenix Mayor Wants Feds to Investigate Sheriff's Racial Profiling

by Blue Intrigue

Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 03:15:37 PM PDT

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has had enough of Sheriff Joe:

In the wake of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office crackdowns on illegal immigrants throughout the Valley, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is calling on the FBI to investigate whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio has violated any civil-rights laws.

Link

• Blue Intrigue's diary :: ::
• 
  

In an April 4 letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Gordon asked the Justice Department's civil-rights division and the FBI to probe what Gordon calls a "pattern and practice of conduct that includes discriminatory harassment, improper stops, searches and arrests."

Justice Department officials promised to review Gordon's letter but declined further comment.

Hopefully, the feds will take Gordon's request seriously, coming as it does from the mayor of a large Southwestern city. Naturally, Arpaio is condescending and dismissive in his response:

"I think the mayor is disconnected from the people he represents and he doesn't get the point. Now he's going to Washington to confuse the issue and try to get the public against me," Arpaio said Saturday. "It's not going to work. I've done nothing wrong." ... Arpaio insists Gordon is taking the opportunity to play political games and said the series of letters, whether they come from ministers or politicians, don't bother him.

"I don't think any of them carry any weight cause I have nothing to hide," he said. "(Gordon) did this on his own because he's taking the heat. Now he's degrading my office and my deputies by insinuating that they're violating all these civil laws. We don't profile."

Phil Gordon, a lawyer, is not likely to waste the FBI's time on false claims.

Gordon's four-page letter details Arpaio's recent sweeps through predominantly Latino neighborhoods in Phoenix and Guadalupe.

"Over the past few weeks, Sheriff Arpaio's actions have infringed on the civil rights of our residents," Gordon wrote. "They have put our residents' well-being, and the well-being of law enforcement officers, at risk."

In his letter, Gordon says he was moved to write after Arpaio pledged to bring his sweeps to other Valley cities on an ongoing basis. Gordon, who is an attorney, asks that Arpaio be investigated for possible violations of four laws, including the Civil Rights Act and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.

Additionally, Gordon has the backing of the ACLU, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League.

The sweeps, which Gordon has called "made-for-TV stunts", heve brought out the worst elements of society:

In his office, Gordon has a pair of posters held by protesters at the recent sweep that took place near Cave Creek and Bell roads. Given to him by a Phoenix police officer who was on the scene, one refers to Latinos with an expletive and a slur. Another says "Hooray for the slaughtering of the illegals!" and is adorned with a swastika.

The bottom line in this is that Sheriff Joe has poured resources into catching a few illegals (always in front of cameras) while violent crimes go uninvestigated and unsolved. And he has violated the rights of many citizens in the process. One of the more common citations issued during the sweeps has been for honking the car horn in support of the protestors who greet Arpaio wherever he sets up shop with his two hundred deputies. What kind of law enforcement is this? Oh, and how many non-Latinos have been stopped for this?

It's time to stop this thug.

Help elect Dan Saban.

From Today's Chronicle

Thanks, Mr. Mayor

Editor - Congratulations to Mayor Gavin Newsom on turning liberal San Francisco into an extension of the repressive Chinese government. The relay should have just been canceled.

JOHN NAVAS

San Ramon

Shameful, San Francisco

Editor - I have just watched one of the most embarrassing public spectacles imaginable with the San Francisco Olympic torch relay being beamed worldwide. It was like watching a car wreck, a failed surprise party or a canceled wedding. The sight of torch bearers waving at nobody along a nondescript stretch of Van Ness Avenue, following a flatbed truck, was pathetic. Flanked by double rows of dark uniformed police officers on foot and on motorcycles, the procession resembled a military drill more than a celebration.

As the world was watching, the powers that be in San Francisco blinked at the challenge of controlling both celebrants and dissidents. Whoever made the decision to cause this travesty should apologize to the thousands who waited hours to take part in something that should have made San Francisco proud.

WAYNE KATSUMATA

Berkeley

Decision

I'm going to Princeton. Hurra!

A New Ocean!

Did anyone know that in 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization officially termed the ocean circling Antarctica the Southern Ocean? So, now, there are 5 oceans:

1) Pacific Ocean
2) Artic Ocean
3) Altantic Ocean
4) Indian Ocean
5) Southern Ocean

5 oceans and 8 planets...... In German, there are 6 continents because Amerika is one continent, from the tip of Chile and Argentian up to the Arctic Ocean..... Weird. Was anyone aware of this?

The newly unvailed flag

of the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence today in the capital of Prishtina (formerly Priština under Serbian rule). The Albanian population of the world celebrates.


A view of the capital. This street is called Bulevardin Bill Clinton (Bill Clinton Boulevard). Below is another picture of the street.

Kosovo declares independence!

Another day....

Another day, another story on Natalie Holloway, another omission by CNN. The charge of first-degree murder in the case of Lawrence King has been elevated to a hate-crime. The 14-year old will be tried as an adult, according to the Ventura County prosecutor.

What is this not huge news? If it were a racist murder it would be on the front page! A 27-year old gunman in Illinois is front-page news for days? Matthew Shephard was big news!

The following have reported this story, barely:
Miami Herald
Los Angeles Times

Everyone else is barely carrying the AP line that they're unaware of the reasons why it's been upgraded to a hate crime. Students at the school said that he came out as gay. He wore make-up, painted his nails, wore high-heeled boots and skirts. This is the reason those kids gave for what happened. It's pretty clear that they didn't make it up and would be grounds for a hate crime. I've heard that they omit the word gay,for fear of defamation lawsuits. I don't know if this is true.

I used to paint my nails. Did I deserve to be shot and have the story buried? I am so disgusted with our press.

Please Boycott CNN

There is a story about a boy named Lawrence King in Oxnard, CA, who was shot and killed yesterday. No official motive yet, but it was most likely due to the fact that he was gay and wore women's clothes to school. He had a fight with the killer over his sexual orientation and was shot in the head. LATimes devotes half the story to the question of motive, discusses the possibility of it being a hate crime and discuss GLBT issues in schools.

CNN does not have the story on the right side of the screen, while reporting on two other shootings perpetrated by young children. The story it does have has no mention of the issue of sexual orientation!

How dare they! Natalie Holloway is big news, but a school murder of a gay teen is not important enough? I mean, the boy was white! That should count for something!

Boycott CNN!

McCain, You've Already Lost

You really want to be president? You want to be considered a hero, respected by our nation?

Let's paint this in broad, wide strokes here. Let's make this basic and clear.

You are against Bush's tax cuts? Actually, you changed that in the early 2000s.

You are pro-immigration? In the last debates, you said that you would not vote for your own bill, because it wouldn't have a chance.... HUH?

You are against torture? YOU VOTED TODAY AGAINST A BAN ON TORTURE AND THUS LOST ANY MODICUM OF RESPECT ANYONE SHOULD EVER HAVE FOR YOU!

You are a warmonger, who supports Bush's tax cuts, harsher border security and torture. This country better stand up and fight if you are elected.

From around the world

Poland (Rzeczpospolita, Warsaw)

Obama wygrał nad Potomakiem

Barack Obama wygrał wszystkie trzy wtorkowe demokratyczne prawybory: w Wirginii, Maryland oraz stołecznym dystrykcie Columbia (DC) i ma już większą liczbę delegatów na przedwyborczą konwencję partyjną niż Hillary Clinton.

Austria (Der Standard, Austria)

Dreifach-Triumph für Obama

Nach Siegen in Virginia, Maryland und Washington DC hat Obama erstmals Clinton bei Delegiertenstimmen überholt.

England (BBC News, London)

Obama wins primaries clean sweep

Barack Obama has won the Democratic primary polls in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, according to US media projections and early results.

Russia (Izvestia, Moscow)

Обама победил на очередном этапе "праймериз"

Сенатор-демократ Барак Обама стал абсолютным победителям очередного этапа "праймериз", которые прошли во вторник параллельно у демократов и республиканцев в штатах Вирджиния и Мэриленд, а также в столице США Вашингтоне.

Switzerland (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich)

Obama bleibt auf der Überholspur

Clinton bei Vorwahlen in drei Ostküstenstaaten geschlagen. Barack Obama hat auch die Vorwahlen zur amerikanischen Präsidentschaft in den Bundesstaaten Virginia und Maryland sowie in der Hauptstadt Washington gewonnen.

Australia (The Australian, Sydney)

Obama wins three primaries

Barack Obama won all three Democratic nominating contests today. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rolled to decisive victories in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, extending his winning streak over rival Hillary Clinton.

Translated 100th post extravaganza

DEMOKRATEN- DRAMA

Obama zieht an Clinton vorbei

Schwere Schlappe für Hillary Clinton: Ihr Rivale Barack Obama hat die Vorwahlen in Virginia, Maryland und in der Hauptstadt Washington klar gewonnen - und damit erstmals die Führung im Rennen um die US-Präsidentschaftskandidatur der Demokraten übernommen. Bei den Republikanern siegte John McCain.

"DEMOCRATS' DRAMA
OBAMA PASSES CLINTON
Hard slap for Hillary Clinton: Her rival, Barack Obama, won definitively the primaries in Virginia, Maryland and in DC. With these victories, he has become the front-runner for the first time in the race for the Democratic nomination for the US-Presidency. John McCain won amongst the Republicans."

EUROPE LOVES IT, AND SO DO WE!

The cover of this week's Der Spiegel has a picture of Obama and the title "Der Messias-Faktor" (The Messiah-Factor).

JA, WIR KÖNNEN ES! TAK, TO MOZEMY! SI, SE PUEDE! YES, WE CAN!

Somebody out there oughta enjoy these county results.

Fairfax updated 3 minutes ago		Obama	90,042	59%	96% reporting
		Clinton	61,756	41%

We Will Miss You, Mr. Lantos

A man who fled the Nazis in Europe, came to America and got a PhD at Berkeley, became a professor for 30 years and served the citizens of San Mateo and San Francisco counties in Congress 28 years died today of esophageal cancer.
A member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, he called for health care reform, a balanced budget, an end to Bush's tax cuts. He opposed the privatization of Social Security. He supported marriage equality, a woman's right to choose and gun control. He was a champion of public transportation and an advocate for green energy.
He spoke out for religious freedom around the world and called for intervention abroad to stop war. He originally supported the Iraq War, but changed his mind. He desperately called for a force to be sent to Darfur.
He had announced that he would not seek a 15th term, as he was ill and wanted more time with his family. It was not to be.

His ratings by Project Vote Smart:
American Civil Liberties Union – 91% for 2005–2006
AFL-CIO – 100% in 2006
Humane Society of the United States – 100% for 2005-2006
League of Conservation Voters – 92% for 2006
NARAL Pro-Choice America – 100% for 2006
National Education Association – 100% for 2005-2006
National Organization for Women – 95% for 2005-2006

Americans for Tax Reform – 0% for 2006
Gun Owners of America – 0% for 2006
National Rifle Association – F for 2006
National Right to Life Committee – 0% for 2005-2006

We've lost a great champion of our rights.

In his own words: "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress.... I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

Thank you, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA-12)
(born Lantos Tamás Péter)

SUSA

The pollster that got almost everything right, nailed California and got only Missouri wrong (which I got right by the way, hehe), has polled Virginia at Obama 57 - Clinton 39. Beautiful.

-Nebraska and Washington are Obama-type states and are caucuses, so he should do well.
-Louisiana is heavily African-American, so he should do well.
-Maine is a closed-primary? I think..... so he may have an issue there.
-Virginia is polling beautifully.
-He would have to murder someone on national television to lose DC.
-Maryland is heavily educated, wealthy, politically involved and African-American, so there's that.
-Hawaii is his.
-Wisconsin is heavily labor-leftist, Edwards-type people, plus Chicago suburbanites/exurbanites. Milwaukee is heavily African-American.

He CAN, but may not be able to sweep the rest of February.

He's most vulnerable in Maine, less so in Wisconsin and Washington.......

Tim Kaine, the D-governor of Virginia has said he should not be Obama's running mate, should he win the nomination. He recommended Jim Webb!

Obama/Webb '08

Germany's Rodney King?

I'm sure you've heard the story of the 9-month old baby dropped from the window of the burning building in Ludwigshafen, Germany. But are you aware of the racial tension throughout Central Europe?

9 people were killed (5 children), 60 injured, all of them Turks or German Turks. Just 2 years ago, the building was bombarbed by a Molotov Cocktail. The door of the Turkish cultural center inside the building was painted with Nazi-slogans. Two girls saw a "German-looking" man light a baby carriage on fire in the foyer.

This would be the worst Nazi-attack on Turks in Germany's history. Turkey's Prime Minister arrived in Nordrhein-Westfalen, the state where Ludwigshafen lies, and spoke with Kurt Beck, the state's Prime Minister. They asked the crowds to hold off judgment before anything became known. During the speech, 2 right-wing extremist youths were detained just 1 block from the crowd for violating an existing restraining order.

The 2.6 million Turks of the country (and countless others in Austria and other neighbors) are angry. They are scared. One 18-year old Turkish woman hoped that it was not a Nazi-attack. "Otherwise there will be war here in the streets." (Sonst gibt es Krieg hier auf den Straßen.) Let's hope she's wrong.

The Death of the Democratic Party?

Oh no! From DailyKos:

The Math: Impossible for HC Or BO to Win Nom Process

by Public Servant

Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:30:20 PM PST

Paul Kane at the Washington Post has crunched the numbers and finds that it is mathematically impossible for Clinton or Obama to win the Dem nomination in the standard process. That puts the super-delegates, the Dem Party elite, front and center to choose for us.

There are 3,253 pledged delegates. These are assigned based on votes in primaries (and caucuses). To win the Dem nomination, a total of 2,025 delegates is necessary. So far, nearly 55% of the total of 3,253 delegates have been pledged via primary/caucus voting. Hillary and Barack are fairly close to even so far, ~900 delegates each, leaving ~1450 delegates up for grabs in the next few months

The problem is that if they both have about 900 pledged delegates so far, that totals ~1800, leaving ~1450 delegates available. If 2025 are needed to win, its highly unlikely that Obama or Clinton would win the 1100+ of the remaining 1450 delegates (45%) necessary to win through actual voting.

So unless Obama can win this politically in February and somehow knock Clinton out on Super Tuesday II on March 4th in Ohio and Texas, or unless some huge scandal pops up which is also unlikely, this thing is going to end with a few hundred Super-Ds making the call. That is, unless Clinton manages to push the Dems to include Florida and Michigan in the mix. I haven't looked at that math, but it's doubtful that including FL and MI might not make push Clinton over the top.

I haven't seen anyone else do the math on this and put it out there like Kane at WAPO has done, which is surprising. But if others have done so, I'd like to see if there are different interpretations out there. Thoughts?

YES.WE.DID...Obamomentum '08

So went San Francisco, so went the nation...... it just had to endure a mild bruising in some of the more unsavory parts of California. Hehe.

This is beautiful. Obama now offers me "Change I Can Believe In", because, for the first time, I believe that he is the odds-on favorite for the nomination. He's got the momentum, the clear road in February ahead, the Super Tuesday win, the massively superior funding..... and my $25. I better get good returns on my donation. Hehe.

Oh, and some of her campaign people are going unpaid, and she's loaned $5mil. of her own money. She aims to win $1mil per day for today, tomorrow and the next day. Obama has raised $6mil. (including my meager attempt) since the polls closed yesterday!

Obama '08!

Here are some beautiful statements I pulled off of DailyKos:

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
John Kenneth Galbraith

Our 'neoconservatives' are neither new nor conservative, but old as Bablyon and evil as Hell.
Edward Abbey

Come, come, my conservative friend, wipe the dew off your spectacles, and see that the world is moving.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Yes.We.Can

So goes California, so goes the nation. And so goes San Francisco, so goes California!

The eyes of the entire world are upon us. We must show them what a compassionate, progressive country we are.

How young and dynamic we are.

How peaceful we are.

How we fight for the little guy.

Obama/Sebelius(/Napolitano/Webb/Edwards) '08

Predictions

Just for fun.

California	Obama	52-48
Idaho	Obama	61-39
Arizona	Obama	51-49
Utah	Obama	61-39
Colorado	Obama	52-48
New Mexico	Clinton	52-48
North Dakota	Obama	59-41
Minnesota	Clinton	52-48
Oklahoma	Clinton	55-45
Kansas	Obama	52-48
Missouri	Obama	51-49
Illinois	Obama	67-33
Alabama	Obama	52-48
Georgia	Obama	59-41
Connecticut	Clinton	52-48
Massachusetts	Clinton	52-48
New York	Clinton	58-42
New Jersey	Clinton	51-49
Alaska	Obama	62-38
Arkansas	Clinton	61-39
Tennessee	Clinton	55-45
Delaware	Obama	51-49
American Samoa	?	?

Obama! Obama! Obama!

GO Obama! Kick some Southern ass!

Oh, and Dad, the answer is, apparently. Hehe.