Deadbeat Hil

So that her campaign can use on-hand cash to pay for media buys in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton has become delinquent in bills owed to vendors. And the small businesses she screwed over in Ohio are warning their brothers in Pennsylvania not to take her business.

And she wants to take over the crumbling economy?

Only In George Bush's Amerika

Tell me again, who won the Cold War? From New York NewsDay:

An 80-year-old church deacon in a wheelchair was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.

Fascism is alive and well in George Bush's Amerika.

Under the Weather

Sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend. I had been fighting a bug most of last week and on Thursday afternoon it got the best of me. Fever, chills, bodyaches. I think I turned the corner yesterday (well, the fever and chills are gone), but we'll see what this Monday brings.

Light posting for the next day or two.

"Boooo..."

This made my morning...

Food For Thought

The new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Sen. Barack Obama easily taking California's 55 electoral votes in a general election match up over Sen. John McCain. Sen. Hillary Clinton ties with the Republican candidate.

Bottom line: Obama keeps California blue. Clinton puts in in play. And if you think Clinton can win the White House without those 55 votes, I'd like you to look at the map and tell me where she makes up the difference.

Joining Her Own Conspiracy

The New Republic's Christopher Orr sees a pattern:

Anyone reading this blog is presumably aware that, over the past several weeks, Hillary Clinton has gone out of her way to repeatedly compliment John McCain at Barack Obama's expense.

But consider a few other data points:

1) Matt Drudge hyped a photo of Obama in Somali garb that he claimed (and the Clinton campaign declined to deny) Clinton staffers had been circulating.

2) Bill Clinton went on the Rush Limbaugh show on the day of the Texas primary--after Limbaugh had spent days urging GOP voters in the state to cross over and vote for Clinton in order "rig" the election and ensure that Democrats nominated the weaker of their two candidates.

3) The Clinton campaign has been circulating an article in The American Spectator alleging that an Obama adviser, former Air Force chief Merrill McPeak, is an anti-semite and a drunk.

4) When Clinton attacked Obama on Jeremiah Wright yesterday, she did it at an editorial meeting of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the vanity publication of Richard Mellon Scaife, while sitting next to Scaife himself.

Drudge. Limbaugh. The American Spectator. Richard Mellon Scaife. What exactly is it going to take before Clinton campaign staffers recognize that they are, in essence, now working for the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?

Perhaps once Obama achieves the Democratic nomination Hillary and her right wing buddies can cross over and join the Republican-Fascists.

McCain/Clinton, anyone?

The Patriotism of Rev. Wright

Quote of the Day:

In the early 1960s, at a time when many young people were being radicalized by the Vietnam War, Wright left college and volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps. After three years as a marine, he chose to serve three more as a naval medical technician, during which time he received several White House commendations. He came to Chicago to study not long after Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder in 1968, the U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia in 1969, and the shooting of students at Kent State University in 1970.

...Friendship develops through many gestures and shared delights (in [my] case, stops for sinfully rich barbecue after evening services), and people across the economic spectrum can attest to the generosity of the Wright family...

Those who were part of his ministry for years — school superintendents, nurses, legislators, teachers, laborers, the unemployed, the previously shunned and shamed, the anxious — are not going to turn their backs on their pastor and prophet.

-Martin E. Marty, of the Chronicle of Higher Education's Chronicle Review, stepping up to the plate for Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

(Muchos gracias: Christina)

The Traitor of Her Party

It's official: Hillary Clinton is a traitor to her own political party.

Throughout the 90s there were many of us who defended President and Hillary Clinton against those radicals who made up the very real right wing conspiracy against them. The fascist-conservatives were beside themselves that they no longer held the White House and took up an unprecedented movement to destroy the Democratic President and his wife.

Among the architects of that anti-Clinton movement was Richard Scaife, who bankrolled the Arkansas Project, a series of investigations (that led nowhere) that attempted to make the suicide of Vince Foster look a murder plot by the Clintons, and that put the couple's ill-advised (but not illegal) Whitewater real estate deal on the front pages, among many other "scandals" that never panned out. It can be argued that Scaife's Arkansas Project is what ultimately led, after nothing else would stick, to the Kenneth Starr-led impeachment of a sitting president over a sexual liaison.

As I said, millions of us defended the President against this group of right wing, fascist thugs. So, imagine my surprise, shock, and horror when I see Sen. Hillary Clinton, as a candidate for her party's presidential nomination, sitting down with the architect of the rag tag group that tried derail her husband's presidency, to bash a fellow Democrat...

When asked by Scaife and his editorial board at some Pittsburgh news rag about her comments yesterday that "we don't choose our family, but we can choose the church we attend" (actually, you could have divorced Bill, Hil) and that Rev. Jeremiah Wright would not have been her pastor, she responded:

Well I answered a question in an ed board today that was very specific about what I would have done. And you know I'm just speaking for myself, and I was answering a question that was posed to me.

It's a slap in the face to each and every one of us who passionately defended the Clintons. And it's one more notch in series of them that leads me ever so closer to an absolute denial of my vote in November to Sen. Clinton should she be the nominee.

Shame on her.

Mid-Week Brain Break

This laughing baby clip has received twelve million hits on YouTube. If it doesn't put a smile on your face then you ought to have your head checked...

"Idol" - The Top 10

We're down to the final ten. They sang songs from the year they were born. (GAWD, am I old!) Here is how last night went down...

Ramiele
"Alone"
Damn, this girl sucks. This performance was a screechy mess. Definitely time for her to go home.

Jason
"Fragile"
A very nice job. He's got some talent and I think he very well could make it to the top 4.

Syesha
"If I Were Your Woman"
Like Ramiele, the big-voice songs aren't her strong suit. She was better than Ramiele, but still...not a great performance.

Chikeze
Never mind what the judges said, this was one of best performances of the night...a SUPERB R&B performance. A pleasant surprise.

Brooke
"Every Breath You Take"
I liked her take on this song. Her style is very modern without losing the spirit of the original songs. Very nice.

Michael
"We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions"
Brave choice, but he actually pulled it off. The background singers actually sucked on this! Good job. He's a natural rocker.

Carly
"Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Safe song choice, but a very well done, polished performance.

David Archuletta
"You're the Voice"
Technical foul: This song was released in 1986 in Australia (however, it could have been released in the U.S. in 1990). That said, David was superb as always.

Kristy Lee Cook
"God Bless the USA"
I want her to go home for the simple fact that she sang this schmalzy song.

David Cook
"Billie Jean"
HOLY CRAP! What a knock-em-dead, stupendous take on Michael Jackson's #1 classic. Absolutely, positively the best performance of the last 2 or 3 weeks. David really rocked it tonight!

The best of the week? David Cook - FAR AND AWAY.

Who should go home? Ramiele.

Sally and Hillary

Talking Point Memo's Josh Marshall:

...imagine playing poker around a table with friends. Player A has a Straight Flush; Player B has four of a kind. Then B says, "Well, sure, if you're counting straights, but if we were adding up the numbers rather than going by straights winning, I'd have won."

There's a set of rules everyone agreed on. The wisdom of those rules is irrelevant at this point. The Clinton campaign is entitled to do whatever it wants to get superdelegates to come over to her side to even out the pledged delegate deficit. My take is that whatever the arguments, the superdelegates aren't going to go against a clear pledged delegate leader. And I think they'd be extremely ill-advised to do so. But the superdelegates do have this power under the rules. But these constant efforts to say the rules aren't fair are just silly, and truth be told I think they're more undermining of the Clinton campaign than they realize.

And from Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas:

The Clinton campaign has realized that the rules don't work in their favor, that if we follow the rules as agreed upon before the first caucus vote was cast in Iowa, that they have no chance of winning...

Again, as I noted before, the only way Clinton can win this race is with a coup by superdelegate, which would necessarily create civil war in our party.

And of course, Hillary Clinton doesn't care.

When I was a baby my grandmother was watching me one evening while my mom was in school. As I sat playing on her living room floor, "Gramma Sally" was having a heated discussion on the phone and made reference to someone she didn't care for as "that damn bitch." This little boy walked over, picked up his play phone and, mimicking his beloved grandmother, started saying (sternly) "damn bitch." Bless her heart, it was of my grandmother's favorite memories.

Gramma Sally was the loyalist of loyal Democrats. To vote Republican or third-party on any ballot in any election was just not in her blood. Voting Democratic was ingrained in her DNA.

I've thought about my grandmother a lot during this primary season; and while my heart wishes she could be here to see either the first woman candidate or the first African-American candidate, my head tells me that the current state of the race would break her heart.

Hillary Clinton and her husband are masters at the political game. They know more than anyone that this thing isn't winnable for them. But rather than face the reality of the situation and stand down, they choose to tear the Democratic Party apart by endorsing McCain in hopes of a Republican victory this year so that they can have another crack at the nomination in 2012.

My mother argues that my grandmother would have voted for Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday. Maybe, maybe not. But I am absolutely sure that, at this point in the game, she would be demanding that Hillary either bow out and back Barack Obama, or leave the Democratic Party and campaign for John McCain. True Democrats don't play the game Hillary is playing.

And after she had her say, Gramma Sally would end her argument with that spot-on description...

"Damn bitch!"

"Ooo-whee, Marie!"

Hollywood's huge lack of original ideas continues: Studios are currently making "War of the Worlds 2," "Ace Ventura 3," "Jurassic Park 4" and "Saw 5."

And that's not all. There are plans to remake "Footloose."

On the Gays

The Clintons ("Melissa Etheridge is re-writing history.") vs. Obama ("We've got a war that is bankrupting us. And we're going to argue about gay marriage? I mean, that...doesn't make any sense.")

I'll take Barack each and every time, thank you very much!

The videos below:

Post-Easter "Peep Show"

Tee hee!

Eye Candy

Joe Alexander, West Virginia's hot ball dribbler...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...your 2008 Hunky Jesus...

Hillary and Tuzla

The woman has absolutely no credibility left. Not one iota.

Day Off

I flew out to Chicago on Friday to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday and returned late last night. I slept in a little this morning and have a full day at the office. So, no blogging today.

Have a great Monday!

End-of-the-Week Levity

A little hot dog named Jerry, playing with his new fetch toy!

ABC News Sucks

ABC News gets Hillary Clinton's White House schedule from the files and THIS is what they report? Give me a fuckin' break! Say it with me: WHO CARES!?

Doh!

The New York Times is running this picture today with the following caption:

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and President Bill Clinton at a prayer breakfast at the White House in September 1998.

Economic Meltdown, Part 2

A sobering clip from a Dutch documentary about what might (will?) happen when the dollar finally hits its ultimate low:

Economic Meltdown

Quote of the Day:

This is like nothing I have ever seen before in 50 years of looking at the economy. We are in a very serious situation.

-Former Federal Bank governor Lyle Gramley, yesterday, on the seriousness of the fiscal crisis.

Brent and I don't own, so the housing and mortgage crisis hasn't hit us directly. However, a friend told us last week that the already inflated rents in San Francisco have moved significantly higher in the last couple of months. Thus, it wouldn't surprise me if we see a big uptick in our rent come summer. I am thisclose to suggesting to Brent that we move into the Alameda area in the East Bay. Rents there are more manageable, and if they take a leap up they would still be much lower than the city's.

I'm no economist, but this downturn has the smell of depression written all over it. The Bush administration's raid of the U.S. Treasury, deregulated banking, collapsing investment firms, gas prices creeping up near $5 a gallon in some places...it's all piling up to the point where we're all really, really fucked.

Just like his father (and to be sure, just like President Hoover), President Bush can't seem to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem. Those $600.00 IRS checks? Please! Those aren't going to help the Americans who have tens of thousands of dollars in overdue mortgage payments!

It's time to get really, really frugal folks! And then hang on for dear life...cuz the coming downturn is going to make the Carter, Reagan, and Bush I downturns look like economic booms.

Feel Better, Timmy

I don't have a picture to go with this post, but I wanted to send healing and positive thoughts down Santa Barbara way to Laurie, Tony, and their wonderful, loveable dog, Timmy.

The boy was rushed to the emergency vet this past weekend and had to have surgery to remove his spleen. He got through surgery ok and should be home soon, but it will be a rough few months.

Brent and I are there in spirit. And Timmy is in our thoughts.

Idol Shocker

Ok...Amanda Overmeyer wasn't the best singer on the show. In fact, she was a one-trick pony. But her talents as they are should have kept her on the show for a few more rounds. Hello! Kristy Lee and Ramiele CAN'T SING! It's time for those teenage boys and Paris Hilton wanna-bes to put their phones down.

Mid-Week Brain Break

From one of my all time faves...

"A More Perfect Union"

Large snippets of Barack Obama's speech, with some commentary from yours truly...

On race:

I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.

This entire section, the last sentence in particular, is one of the most patriotic statements I have ever heard. What most of white America tends to forget is that we're all immigrants; that, despite our "whiteness," we come from other lands in far away places. Italian, Polish, British, and yes, even French..."American" isn't a race in and of itself but rather, by design, a combination of different races. Barack Obama is a picture-perfect example of the true "American."

On Jeremiah Wright:

...Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask?

...But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth...

...As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children...He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Puts a lump in your throat, doesn't it!? Obama refused to throw under a bus the man who has been a father-figure to him for decades. Talk about class. This man has it in spades.

On this election:

We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

An Iraq War that is entering its sixth year, a housing market in ruins, an economy that is about to take a depression-esque downturn, an executive branch that is functioning as if a dictatorship, al-Quaida regrouping in Afghanistan, America's global stature in ruins...

Hillary Clinton's strategy at this point seems to be to sully Barack Obama for the general election. She knows she can't win this nomination, so why not do everything she can to make Obama look as bad as possible, let McCain win the presidency, and then come back in 2012 and make another run at this thing?

I'll tell you why, Sen. Clinton. I don't think America could survive four more years of Republican rule. It's that plain and that simple. And if you were a true patriot, if you were a true American, you would stop making this about you and instead make it about us.

After eight years of it, a greed and hunger for power for power's sake is the last thing this country needs as we head into the second decade of the 21st century. And right now, at this point in the cycle, that hunger for power is the only explanation for your candidacy.

Sen. Clinton: It is well past time for you to do what any other candidate would have done after losing 12 consecutive contests in the month of February, and for whom the remaining math just doesn't add up. It is time for you to step aside. For the sake of the party unity to which you pay lip service, for the sake of our great country, please - stand down.

For, as he proved beyond a reasonable doubt yesterday, the United States of America needs Barack Obama as its next president. We simply cannot afford the alternatives.

Obama's Speech

Here it is, in its entirety. It is the most important speech of the campaign thus far, and one of Obama's best. Without a doubt, this man should be our next president.

"Idol" - The Top 11

An extension, of sorts, of last week's Lennon/McCartney catalog, the contestants this week had a go at the entire Beatles library (that is, songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr were on the table). How did it go? Let's see...

Amanda Overmeyer
"Back in the U.S.S.R."
Same ol', same ol'. Amanda continually does a good job, but yeah, yeah...we know her style...and it's starting to get a wee bit boring.

Kristy Lee Cook
"Hide Your Love Away"
After last week's miserable, country-tinged "Eight Days a Week," Kristy Lee got on that stage last night and hacked this classic to hell. This was absolutely shitty...off key...she can't sing. She should most definitely go home, but I have hunch she keeps scraping by on the strength of the infamous (but rarely talked of) "teen boy one-handed vote" (their other hand being "pre-occupied," if ya know what I mean).

David Archuletta
"The Long and Winding Road"
He's baa-aaaack! And damn can he sing!! This guy is nothing short of freekin' phenomenal! Say it with me: Yes. He. Can.

Michael Johns
"A Day In the Life"
I disagree with the judges here. I thought he did a nice job on this song, albeit safe. He made no wrong moves and turned in a decent performance.

Brooke White
"Here Comes the Sun"
Perhaps it was a bit hokey, but this was nowhere near as bad as the judges said. All in all it was a very good performance. Brooke knows - and is comfortable with - her style of music and performing.

David Cook
"Daytrippin'"
Once I again, I couldn't disagree with the judges more. While his use of the voice box was a bit much, this "Beatles-meet-Pearl Jam" take on "Daytrippin'" ROCKED!

Carly Smithson
"Blackbird"
Well done and professional, as always. Not her best, but still...very nice.

Jason Castro
"Michelle"
This seemed like a silly little clown-like performance, and not so good vocally.

Syesha Mercado
"Yesterday"
She looked stunning up there last night. Beautiful dress, great earrings, and she actually turned in a tremendous performance. Loved the guitar arrangement, with the strings coming in later. By a hair, the best of the night.

Chikezie
"I've Just Seen A Face"
Not the worst of the night, but man...what a crappy performance!

Regurgitated CowPie
"I Should Have Known Better"
Yes...but will America know better? With each passing week this girl comes across as amatuerish rather than professional. Flat, off-key, just absolutely horrid. Easily the worst performance of the night.

The Best? By a hair, Syesha.

Who should go home? By a landslide, Ramiele.

A Clinton Coup?

Quote of the Day:

The only path to victory for Clinton is via coup by super delegate. She knows this. That's why there's all the talk about poaching pledged delegates and spinning uncertainty around Michigan and Florida, and laying the case for super delegates to discard the popular will and stage a coup.

Yet a coup by super delegate would sunder the party in civil war. Clinton knows this, it's her only path to victory, and she doesn't care. She is willing - nay, eager to split the party apart in her mad pursuit of power.

...As such, as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't deserve "fairness" on this site. All sexist attacks will be dealt with -- those will never be acceptable. But otherwise, Clinton has set an inevitably divisive course and must be dealt with appropriately.

...People like me have two choices -- look the other way while Clinton attempts to ignite her civil war, or fight back now, before we cross that dangerous line. Honestly, it wasn't a difficult choice. And it's clear, looking at where the super delegates, most bloggers, and people like Olbermann are lining up, that the mainstream of the progressive movement is making the same choice.

And the more super delegates see what is happening, and what Clinton has in store, the more imperative it is that they line up behind Obama and put an end to it before it's too late.

-DailyKos himself, Markos Moulitsos, on the Clinton plans for a Democratic Party civil war.

Personal vindication over party, extreme presidential power over the Constitution: Hillary Clinton's hunger for power isn't any different than Bush and Cheney's, and she needs to be stopped. America can't afford another presidency in that mold.

Little Miss Chloe

Soaking up the late afternoon sun...

Now More Than Ever

Barack Obama will address the issue of his pastor and, more importantly, the issue of race in this presidential campaign today.

I stand by my comments that the junior senator from Illinois transcends the race issue. And I believe in my heart of hearts that America is ready for his brand of leadership.

With gas prices reaching $4.00 a gallon; with the Iraq War reaching the 5-year pinnacle and the Republican nominee suggesting a 100-year stay there; with the American economy on a clear course to ruin...

...we need a "President Obama" now more than ever.

Florida Democrats: No Re-Vote

This does little to defuse the situation. At this point I think the only option is to do what the Republicans did...split the delegates 50/50...in both Florida AND Michigan.

"Sissy" Nominated

Kevin Sessums' brilliant memoir, "Mississippi Sissy," has been nominated for a coveted Lambda Literary Award in the "Men's Memoir/Biography" category.

The book has already been cited by the American Library Association as one of four "Stonewall Books" for 2007 and was named one of the Best Books of 2007 by Amazon.

"Mississippi Sissy" is released in paperback tomorrow. It is one of the best books I have read in years. My original review here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

On Jeremiah

All of this talk about Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's pastor, is a bit ridiculous! I mean, why didn't we look into sermons delivered by the former Republican candidate Mike Huckabee? He was a baptist minister in his previous life and, based on comments he made on the campaign trial, I'm sure some of his speeches from the pulpit would make your skin crawl. And why didn't the press question Mitt Romney about his funny little underwear?

I absolutely abhor the religious bar candidates have to meet in order to have the slightest of chances at the presidency. The private religious views of candidates has no place in the public forum. But if voters and the media are going to hold one candidate up to one standard, then the rest of the field should be held to the same standard.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a non-issue.

Obama Strengthens Delegate Lead

This weekend's county conventions in Iowa handed Barack Obama nine more delegates in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton actually lost one. NBC now estimates the delegate count as follows:

Obama - 1,626
Clinton - 1,503

Worse Than Johnson?

Quote of the Day:

As a Republican, I would never have believed that President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would waste so many opportunities and so much of America’s reputation that they would rival Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara and McGeorge Bundy for the worst wartime national security team in United States history.

-Anthony D. Cordesman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a Sunday New York Times piece where nine experts on military and foreign affairs were asked to comment on the Iraq War five years on.

Obama's Pennsylvania Strategy

He is urging independent voters and disenchanted Republicans to register as Democrats by the March 24th deadline so that they may vote in the Democratic primary on April 22nd.

Eye Candy

This one is dedicated to Larry and his sore legs.

Recently eliminated American Idol, David Hernandez...

Bat-Shit Gone Wild

This NPR interview with Hillary Clinton yesterday came thisclose to making my head explode! I believe a little more with each passing day that this woman is no better than George W. Bush. She makes public statements and then makes contrary public statements later, denying she ever made the first public statement.

She agreed with the party's decision to not seat the delegates in Michigan and Florida after they broke party rules and moved their primaries up a few weeks. Now she says the elections there were fair (even though the other candidates removed their names from the Michigan ballot) and that results in those unofficial elections should stand.

She said two weeks ago that John McCain brought a lifetime of experience to the White House and that Obama only gave a speech, and then in this interview actually has the gall to say she doesn't remember saying it.

Democratic voters in the remaining primaries should think about this long and hard: Replacing the current Fascist socio-path with a Democratic socio-path is not the road we need to take to un-do what George W. Bush has done to our country, to our Constitution, and to our stature around the globe. Swapping one power-hungry, self-absorbed liar with a another will only guarantee a further erosion of homefront support for our government and hostile attitudes from our global neighbors.

To be fair, both Clinton AND McCain fit the socio-path liar description. If we're forced to choose between the two, many voters will drop out of the process, abstain from the presidential line on Election Day, or vote third-party. And that is the worse thing that could happen in an election year where we choose who will be in charge of cleaning up after the worst president in our nation's history.

The math isn't there for Clinton and she knows it. So rather than bow out gracefully she is going to cluster-fuck the process in hopes of a Republican-Fascist victory this fall, so that she can make another run for the prize in 2012.

Americans of every political persuasion need to make sure that doesn't happen. Deny this woman even a glimpse of the presidency. Cast your remaining ballots for Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee for president.

"Kinda Pitchy"

If YouTube campaign videos were contestants on "American Idol," someone would be sent home tonight...



Just like her campaign speeches, like nails across a chalkboard.

Saving Neverland

Michael Jackson saves his Santa Barbara ranch from being auctioned.

Olbermann Blasts Clinton

Last night's Special Comment segment needs no preface; and I urge you to listen to the entire essay. (Hopefully Sen. Clinton listened.)

35 Years of Experience

What does it get you? A re-defining of the word "fair," apparently:

"The results of [the Michigan and Florida] primaries were fair and should be honored," [Hillary Clinton] told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

That's right..."fair" means agreeing to remove your name from the ballot in Michigan and then, after the other candidates have done so, leaving your name on it an calling it a win.

She does Nellie Olsen proud, doesn't she?

The Standard Issue Government Phone Tree

Check out this hilarious "3a.m." animation parody from Walt Handelsman.

"The Spitzer-Blitzer"

Because all you can do is laugh when things like this go down...uuhhh...when government officials get fucked...whoops!...I mean....well...ya know what I mean...

David Letterman's Top Ten Messages Left On Eliot Spitzer's Answering Machine.

10. “Hey, what’s new?”

9. “It’s Barack Obama. Remember our conversation about being my running mate? Never mind.”

8. “Ralph Nader here. Glad to hear I’m not the only politician who has to pay for it.”

7. “Hi, I’m calling from the ‘New York Post.’ Would you rather be known as ‘Disgraced Governor Perv’ or ‘Humiliated Whore Fiend’?”

6. “This is John McCain. If it makes you feel better, I once got caught having sex with Lincoln’s wife.”

5. “It’s Dr. Phil. Call me if you need any horse**** advice.”

4. “This is Sen. Larry Craig. Do you ever go through the Minneapolis airport?”

3. “It’s Wolf Blitzer. Call me if you ever want a hot Spitzer-Blitzer three-way.”

2. “Paris Hilton here. I would have done it for free.”

1. “It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thanks, I’m no longer America’s creepiest governor.”

Perhaps Someday

Mid-Week Brain Break

Reader email:

"Hot Line!" What a piece of shit song! The Sylvers were MUCH better when they wrote and produced their own stuff- before and after the bubble gum pop. Whoever owns the rights to their library should put out on boxed set. That stuff is R&B brilliance!

I don't know who owns the family's musical library currently, but I've put together a playlist that highlights a very small amount of some of their best work.

Leon Sylvers III wrote most of the tracks on this playlist, and produced tracks 7 through 10. That production work led him to the legendary SOLAR label in 1978, where he would go on to produce such top acts as Shalamar ("The Second Time Around"), The Whispers ("And the Beat Goes On"), and Lakeside ("It's All the Way Live"), among others.

But the music he made with his brothers and sisters was pure perfection. These nine siblings could out-harmonize the Jacksons any day of the week!

Enjoy these 10 solid tracks by the Sylvers (to play, click here):

1. Wish That I Could Talk To You
2. Cry of a Dreamer
3. We Can Make It If We Try
4. Ain't No Good In Goodbye
5. Clap Your Hands to the Music
6. Mista Guitar Man
7. Star Fire
8. Don't Stop, Get Off
9. Love Changes
10. Play This One Last Record

Sorry, Larry

As I predicted last night, the lackluster performance from David Hernandez was enough to get him booted off the show.

He wasn't the worst of the evening by any measure, but it doesn't surprise me that Amerika prefers the horrendous Ramiele and the blasphemous Kristy Lee over the gay stripper. We're all about rewarding under-achievers. This is the country, after all, that thought it was a good idea to put George W. Bush back in the Oval Office after one miserable term.

Race Baiter Resigns

Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has resigned as a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee following a series of race-baiting tiraids aimed at the campaign of Barack Obama.

Good riddance!

Escorted Out

Spitzer resigns, effective Monday. Lt. Governor David Paterson will succeed him.

Obama Hands Clinton Her Ass...Again

He beat Sen. Clinton by 26 percentage points in the Magnolia State...an overwhelming blowout:

Obama 61%
Clinton 37%

Add up the national numbers and Sen. Obama now has a 50% to 47% lead over the former First Lady in the popular vote.

'84 VP Nominee Plays the Race Card

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, yesterday on fellow Democrat Barack Obama:

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, today on the backlash caused by her backhanded racist comment:

Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.

Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee, in 1988 on another Democratic primary candidate:

If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race.

What a bitter, fuckin' race-baiting bitch!

Update: Hillary Clinton refuses to reject or denounce the 1984 vice-presidential nominee's comments and Ferraro remains on Clinton's finance committee.

On Spitzer

Another blog on New York Governor Elliot Spitzer:

1. Why is it illegal to pay a prostitute for sex, but it's NOT illegal for a film director to pay two people to have sex in front of a camera and then make money for his product in the form of a DVD or an online download?

2. As a corollary: Why are a prostitute and her john held in such contempt by the media and the public, but Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy are treated as rock stars on both cable and network television? Are they not prostitutes? They were, in actuality, paid for sex. No?

A thought experiment: if you hired a couple to have sex in your bedroom while you watched, it would be prostitution. if someone else hired them, put it on video and you watched them in your bedroom, it would be porn. Why is one illegal and the other isn't?

I agree...prostitution should not be illegal. That said, Spitzer did spend the bulk of his earlier career fighting political corruption and New York crime, including prostitution rings. Probably better that he resign.

Sigh.

"Idol," Week 4

First things first...the new set...as Suzanne Sugarbaker would say on Designing Women..."Oh, big woo!" It's not that much different than the old set and is pretty damn gaudy. The hype was overdone.

And now, the top 12...

Syesha Mercado
"Got To Get You Into My Life"
From the opening horns it was very obvious she did the Earth, Wind, and Fire version of this song, not the Beatles'. Her jazzy, R&B-fused take on the song was above average. Nice, but definitely not a home run.

Chikeze
"She's A Woman"
I'm not familiar with this song and I liked his arrangement up until things went the hard rock route. Those first Color Purple-esque twangy chords were brilliant. The rest of it was rather loud and messy. Hated it.

SoySauce Moombasa
"In My Life"
"The meaning of this song is, like, you know..." Ugh! Flighty little bitch! She dedicated this song to her fellow "Idol" friends who have been eliminated. After this really weak performance, she might just be joining them.

Jason Castro
"If I Fell"
A rather predictable performance. Not bad, but nothing too memorable.

Carly Smithson
"Come Together"
It was Heart meets Lennon/McCartney...and it worked pretty well. Once again a nicely done, professional performance from Carly.

David Cook
"Eleanor Rigby"
I know what he was trying to do here...putting his own grunge twist on the song. Unlike last week's brilliant take on "Hello," this week he fell flat on his face. This was a big ol' mess!

Brooke White
"Let It Be"
She needs to work on her piano-playing/singing-to-the-audience coordination, she seemed to have trouble multi-tasking. HOWEVER... very nice vocal, brilliant job.

David Hernandez
"I Saw Her Standing There"
Poor David looked like he was ready to shit his pants up there. That bigger auditorium must have had him a bit scared. It wasn't his best performance, and my fear is that that may be just enough to eliminate him. The whole gay-stripper thing will keep his vote suppressed I think.

Amanda Overmyer
"You Can't Do That"
I like that she took one of the lesser known Lennon/McCartney songs and belted it out like a Tina Turner classic. Extremely well done!

Michael Johns
"Across the Universe"
LOVED his take on this superb track. Much improved over the last two weeks.

Kristy Lee Cook
"Eight Days A Week"
Three words: What! The! Fuck! Beatles gone country-hick!!? Are you freekin' kidding me!?!?! Horrid!! Blasphemous!! Forget the vote...send this chick home TONIGHT!

David Archuletta
"We Can Work It Out"
Ohhh...damn...he got nervous and forgot the lyrics. Not professional, David! A rather frazzled week for him; he better pick it up next week and get back on track.

Best of the week: Carly and Brooke.

Who should go home: By any measure, without a doubt, Kristy Lee.

Blog Day Off

Flew back from Seattle last night and slept in a little this morning. I need to get into the office, so no blogging until this evening at the earliest.

Happy Tuesday!

Bill and John

Quote of the Day:

Saying that Hillary has Executive Branch experience is like saying Yoko Ono was a Beatle.

-Jsn, a commenter on a DailyKos diary page.

ROFLMAO!!

Come Convention Time

So what happens if we get to the Democratic National Convention this summer and neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama have the delegates needed to secure the presidential nomination? What if the super delegates split down the middle, Obama/Clinton doesn't cut it, Clinton/Obama doesn't cut it, and after several ballots the convention is still deadlocked?

I say we go the route Taegan Goodard suggests. Tell both Hillary and Barack "Thank you for your time, but we're going with someone else now."

And then nominate Al Gore.

Wanna Get High?

According to the Associated Press, all you need to do is pour yourself a glass of tap water.

Lunatic Fringe

Email from Larry:

...this comes from Ezra Klein. Probably sage advice for us lunatics.

"For the Good of the Country"

A TPM diarist asks Clinton and Obama's supporters to think of the party and gracefully exit the race:

I think one thing is clear this far into the Democratic primary race: Both Obama's and Clinton's supporters must now drop out of the race.

Hillary Clinton's supporters have gotten incredibly annoying, with their chants of "Yes She Can," and charges of cultism and their desperate yelps of schadenfreude every time Clinton looks like she might actually be "recapturing the lead" that she never had.

And Obama's supporters, yes, you too are incredibly annoying, with your accusations of Clintonian Republicanism and your whiny little cries about how you're going to take your ball and run home if your candidate doesn't win the primary.

Supporters of both candidates, please listen closely. For the good of the Party -- no, for the good of the Nation! -- the time has come for you to leave this race.

No more late nights in front of MSNBC. No more blogging. No more reading TPM. No more arguing at the watercooler, or at the happy hour after work at TGIF's.

Uhh..we're not lunatics. We're addicts. There's a difference.

Mmm k?

Flowers, Pussy, & Larry

A very cute picture of Thor (Larry and Trevor's boy) relaxing amongst the daffodils in front of their place in the Castro.

Reminder: Larry is training (and training hard) for the upcoming AIDS Lifecycle 7, a seven-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles taking place this June. If you can spare a few bucks, click here and help my good friend support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

(Photo courtesy of Larry's Sore Legs)

The Little Girl In the Ad

I'm in the Seattle area for work and thought this little tid-bit from the local NBC affiliate, KING-TV, was an absolute hoot:

The so-called "red-phone ad" was played all over the country and helped turn the tide for Hillary Clinton leading up to her big win in Ohio. The ad shows a sleeping child and asks voters who they would want to see answering a 3 a.m. emergency phone call to the White House.

But the young girl starring in the ad (it's stock video that was shot a long time ago) will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton.

And she's been campaigning for Obama here in Seattle. And plans to vote for him in November.

So there!

Oh...and one more thing....her reaction to the Clinton ad:

I think it would be really wonderful if me and Barack Obama could get together and make a nice counter ad.

If I were Obama, I would be all over that offer.

That 3am Call

Quote of the Day:

Suggestion for Obama: The next time Hillary uses the recycled red phone ad, counter with one of your own. When the phone rings in the middle of the night, have a woman's voice, with a flat Midwestern accent, answer it and say, "Hold on" into the receiver. Then she should shout, "Bill! It's for you!"

-Dick Morris (yeah, yeah...I know...but he knows the Clintons quite well, having helped manage Bill's 1996 re-election campaign) in a column published today at RealClearPolitics.com, reiterating the fact that the math just isn't there for Hillary Clinton.

Democrat Picks Up Republican House Seat

Congratulations to Democrat Bill Foster for winning the special election in Illinois congressional district 14 - a seat that, until his resignation, belonged to Dennis Hastert, the former Republican Speaker of the House!

This district is heavily Republican. John McCain came out and campaigned for the Republican candidate, Jim Oberweis. Yet Foster won comfortably, 53% to 47%.

The results are extremely bad news for Republicans heading into the general election season. If they can't hold on to a seat formerly held by the man who was second in line for the presidency (after the V.P.) in a district that tilts heavily to the Republicans, then they have their work cut out for them this November.

For the Democrats this is good news all around, but doubly so if Barack Obama is the presidential nominee. Obama campaigned for Foster, helped raise funds, and taped some TV ads for him. You can't deny his coat tails helped here, and would help congressional candidates elsewhere around the country this November.

Even if we lose the White House in November, the person listed at the top of the ticket still has the ability to increase the margins of the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. And, without question, that presidential candidate is Barack Obama. He proved his coattail might in this special congressional race. Hillary Clinton, in contrast, would more than likely hurt Democratic congressional candidates, and would probably flip the Senate back to Republican rule. And America can't afford that.

But for this Sunday let us celebrate the election of Bill Foster to congress. Congrats on a hard won victory, sir!

Obama Takes Wyoming

Sen. Obama trounced Sen. Clinton in Wyoming's presidential caucus yesterday. The final result:

Obama 61%
Clinton 38%
Uncommitted 1%

Olbermann Lamblasts Clinton

Keith Olbermann is not a right-wing nut job. He is TV's answer to Bill O'Reilly; an intelligent progressive and fervent opponent of George W. Bush; a respected journalist who has delivered many commentaries against the Republican president's glaring incompetencies. And so, when he takes Sen. Hillary Clinton to task over her apparent support of Sen. John McCain, his viewers sit up and take notice.

His opening segment on last night's "Countdown" was absolutely devastating to Sen. Clinton:

Part 1: Et tu Hillary?



Part 2: The Garbage Disposal (Keith's sigh toward the end says at all!)



Hillary needs to stop, take a pill, and think this through. If she continues to tout McCain over Obama there will be huge hell to pay down the line.

Should Obama win the nomination but lose the general election, a Clinton run in 2012 would be D.O.A. If Obama were to win the White House, a Clinton seat on the Supreme Court would never materialize, and a second run for the presidency in 2016 would be a pipe dream.

Part of me thinks that if she wants to throw her support to Sen. McCain then she should "go for it." The Republicans hate this woman so much, they'd abandon McCain in droves if she were to back him over her fellow Democrat. And nothing (NOTHING) would rally Democratic and independent voters to Obama's side more than a Hillary defection.

That said, my heart's desire is for Sen. Clinton - a woman who I admired for a long time, who has been a superb U.S. Senator for the state of New York (indeed for the nation) - be a superb Democrat; to remember that this race isn't about her, and that if she doesn't win the nomination, pulling the rug out from under her fellow Democrats will be viewed in such a negative light that her reputation will be forever tainted.

End-of-the-Week Levity...

...the 70s Edition.

Two videos this week, the first from the brilliant team of the #1 game show of the decade, "Match Game"...



The second is a schmalzy bubble-gum classic from 1976. The dance moves! Those costumes!!. I prefer the solid R&B numbers they wrote and produced themselves to this Freddie Perren-produced confection, but still...what a hoot!

Sylvers . Hotline .1977
Uploaded by capitainfunkk

Bu-Bye!

There were no real surprises as last night's "American Idol" elimination. Kady Malloy, Luke Menard, Asia'h Epperson, and little Danny Noriega were sent packing.

And now it's on to the "final 12" part of the series, with a new set and the Beatles catalog open to contestants.

Don'tcha FEEL the excitement?!

A Snapshot Against McCain

SurveyUSA has just finished two sets of polling in all 50 states in an effort to see how both Democrats do against John McCain in the Electoral College. Needless to say, they both win...Hillary barely, Obama with a bit more comfort:

Clinton vs McCain:

Clinton - 276 electoral votes
McCain - 262 electoral votes
(270 needed to win)


My buddies Ben and Larry will be happy to see this result. Truth be told, I am as well. But the politico in me sees red flags. First and foremost, Clinton loses to McCain in Oregon and Washington. These are two states that haven't gone Republican since 1984. They went for Dukakis for crying out loud. If she can't hold on to the core Dukakis states, then what's to keep others from slipping out of her grasp after a bruising general election campaign?

To be fair, she puts her native Arkansas back in the Democratic column (her husband won his home state in both of his elections); and seems to be leading in Florida (that would be poetic justice for the 2000 debacle).

Other red flags...her margins in states where she is leading are pretty small, and her margins in most of the states she is losing are tremendous - which leads me to believe that if Sen. Clinton were to pull out the victory reflected in this poll, it would more than likely come with a popular vote loss. And I don't think the nation could bear another haywire election.

Oh...fair is fair...it would be oh-so-sweet to see President Hillary Clinton take the oath of office in front of Dubya having won the office the same way he did. But I'd rather she didn't.

Obama vs. McCain:

Obama - 280 electoral votes
McCain - 258 electoral votes


Barack Obama's overall electoral vote lead is only slightly higher than Clinton's, however a deeper study of the numbers shows this map as a solid base from which to expand. His lead in the blue states is a bit stronger than hers, and McCain's lead in the red states isn't as strong against Obama as against Clinton. If Obama were to win as the poll shows, there is no doubt he would win the popular vote.

He keeps Oregon and Washington in the Democratic column; and while he throws Pennsylvania and New Jersey back to the GOP, he picks up North Dakota and Virginia - two states that haven't voted Democratic in a presidential election since 1964.

He would even win 2 of Nebraska's 5 electoral votes (like Maine, the state divides it's Electoral College votes based on results in each congressional district). Now THAT is quite the feat! Nebraska is one of the most Republican states in the nation when it comes to presidential voting (Bush won 64% of the vote there in 2004, 62% in 2000). If Obama can make in-roads there, then who's to say he can't pick off another super-red state (like, say, his birth state of Kansas)?

Mr. Brightside

I have a long day ahead of me so this will be my one and only post for a Thursday.

Well, it looks like Clinton and Obama will be duking this thing out for another couple of months. While it would be nice to have it settled now, remember a couple of things: 1. In 1992 Bill Clinton didn't have the nomination wrapped up until April or May; and 2. As long as the Democratic race remains undecided, new voters will be coming out in droves, meaning more votes in congressional primaries down the ballot and that many more votes in November. Superb news for America, I'd say!

Just looking at the bright side, is all.

In the mean time, Democrats can take a little solace in this: Whoever wins the party's nomination is going to get a boost from this little Rose Garden lovefest. It's pure campaign gold!



He really is Bush's little lap dog, isn't he?

"Idol," Week 3: The Girls

It's the girls turn to belt out songs from the 80s. Will we hear any Cyndi Lauper? Let't find out...

Asiah Epperson
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
It's always risky to do a Whitney Houston song. When she was at her peak, that voice was something to behold. And I'm afraid Asiah was nowhere near Ms. Houston's league tonight.

Kady Malloy
"Forever"
I have no idea what song this is. She caterwauled her way through the whole thing. It was pure ka-ka!

Amanda Overmeyer
"I Hate Myself For Loving You"
This was a great song choice for her, and she belted right out of that studio. Nicely done!

Carly Smithson
"I Drove All Night"
There's the Cyndi song!!!! And once again, Carly turned in one the best performances of the week. She NAILED this! (Simon is an idiot...this song was just fine for her.)

Kristy Lee Cook
"Faithfully"
Ok...she took a classic Journey rocker and ... well ... I'm not sure what she did with it. It was sort of half rocker, half country, with a little bit of karaoke thrown in. I didn't like it.

Makadingdong Titikaka
"Against All Odds"
A rather weak performance. Her timing seemed a bit off in spots. Pretty sloppy.

Brooke White
"Love Is A Battlefield"
I absolutely loved this! If she recorded this song exactly as she sang it tonight, it would be a huge hit. Superb! Best of the night.

Syesha Mercado
"Saving All My Love"
Yet another attempt at a Whitney song. She did better than Asiah and did an admireable job with the vocals but still...it wasn't quite Whitney now, was it?

And, like last night, OH. MY. GAWD! How many freekin' pills did Paula take before airtime tonight!?! She is SO off center this week!

Eye Candy

Ok...enough about last night's primary elections. Let's focus on what REALLY matters...hot frat boys horsin' around! (What ARE they doing?)

In Perspective

From the Washington Post:

The slim margin in the Texas popular vote and an additional caucus process in which she trailed made clear that she would not win enough delegates to put a major dent in Sen. Barack Obama's lead. And regardless of the results, she emerged from the crucible of Ohio and Texas with a campaign mired in debt and riven by dissension.

Last night's results don't surprise me in the least. In fact, I predicted as much this past weekend (here) and yesterday (here).

That said, I just don't see how the math helps her in the long run. She needed at least 62% of the vote in all four states to make a dent in Obama's delegate and national vote leads. She fell well short of that goal, making the climb to the nomination steeper still.

None the less, three solid wins puts some wind in the sails of Sen. Clinton's campaign. She can keep going and see how things turn out in the next set of states. But again, she would have to perform impossibly well to have a prayer of catching up to Obama's overall lead.

As for Obama, this will test his mettle. He needs to prove he can bounce back from the vicious attacks the Clintons threw at him and regain his once solid footing. What the Clintons did to him is nothing compared to what the Republican machine will do this summer and fall. It shouldn't be too hard. He was knocked on his ass last night, but he's not bloodied and he still has a pretty substantial advantage going forward.

Can Clinton still win this thing? You bet. But it's going to be awfully hard.

How should Obama proceed? It's time to stop being Mr. Nice Guy. We're in the home stretch and now is the time to beat Clinton at her own game. He needs to grab that kitchen sink she threw at him this past week and throw right back at her. Remind voters of the psycho-drama of the 90s and ask them if they really want to go through that again. Confront Hillary when she attacks. (Rezko and real estate? Does "Ms. Whitewater" really want to go there?)

It will be a delicate balance. Obama is running on the promise of changing the tone in D.C., but in order to change the tone he has to win this thing. And that means fighting back hard.

So, roll up those sleeves Sen. Obama. It's time to get those hands a little muddy!

Clinton's Trifecta!

She takes Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas!

The results:

Ohio:
Clinton 54%
Obama 46%

Rhode Island:
Clinton 58%
Obama 41%
Uncommitted 1%

Texas:
Clinton 51%
Obama 49%

Vermont:
Obama 60%
Clinton 38%

The best news of the night is that Democrats turned out in huge numbers in all four states (even battling the elements in Ohio, apparently). If they are able to get those voters back to the polls in November (especially among the hispanic electorate), then it shouldn't be all that hard to beat Sen. McCain in November.

As for the all important delegate count, Obama still has a comfortable lead. The math is still being worked out, but a cursory glance shows Clinton winning 185 delegates in the four contests last night and Obama winning 184. Despite losing Texas by a small margin, the state's formula for delegate assignment helped him tremendously. Overall that gives Obama a rough total of 1,307 delegates to 1,175 for Clinton.

Adding last night's four states to the mix, Obama still leads in the national popular vote:

Obama 52%
Clinton 48%

If you include the vote in the non-binding Florida primary, he still leads:
Obama: 50.5%
Clinton: 49.5%

Since only one name appeared on the ballot in the unofficial Michigan primary, those numbers are not counted.

Calif Supreme Court Hears Marriage Case

And it seems they don't know whether to scratch their watch or wind their butt. From the LA Times:

The California Supreme Court appeared divided today over the constitutionality of the state's ban on same-sex marriage. During three hours of arguments by lawyers for and against gay marriage, Justice Joyce L. Kennard questioned whether "the state has effectively conceded there is no valid grounds for distinction" between domestic partnership and marriage. But at least three of the seven justices repeatedly noted that California voters have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and that the public might not be ready to embrace same-sex marriage. Justice Carol A. Corrigan indicated that it might be best to leave the question to the public, whose perception of gay marriage, she said, is in the process of 'evolving.' She also asked lawyers to show her where the state constitution addressed same-sex marriage."

They really only need to look at one simple thing...gay marriage in Massachusetts, where it's been legal for a couple of years now. No falling into the ocean, no lighting strikes from above, no breakdown of family and straight marriage.

Give me a break Supremes! Just do the right thing.

Too Close To Call

As of 9:07pm, Texas is still too close to call. Obama and Clinton have held small leads at different points off and on all evening. I'm going to sign off for the night and log on in the morning to see what happened.

Two things: Whatever the results, Obama still holds a lead in the delegate race. Clinton's win in Ohio will keep her campaign going for another month or so, but the way I see it this race is still Obama's to lose.

That said, it's time for him to stop being Mr. Nice Guy. The Clinton camp threw everything AND the kitchen sink at him this week and, unfortunately, it worked. He needs to unload in kind over the next week or so. Pound back...and pound back hard. He's played a pretty good chess game up to this point. Now it's time to go in for the kill.

Hasta manana...

Dealing With Loss

Quote of the Night:

I just had a Jager shot, and hope to get drunk very soon.

-Obama backer Andrew Sullivan, taking in tonight's primary results.

"Idol," Week 3: The Guys

Week one featured music from the 1960s and last week it was the 1970s, so...shocker!...this week it's the 80s! Here we go...

Luke Menard
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
Are you kidding me? That su-HUCKED!!

David Archuleta
"Another Day In Paradise"
Another knock-out performance from the kid from Utah! This was a very nice intereptation of a classic Phil Collins chart-topper. Not as stupendous as last week's performance, but I loved it none the less.

Danny Noriega
"Tainted Love"
Yet again, he hacked a classic song to pieces. This was pure shit.

David Hernandez
"It's All Coming Back To Me Now"
He has a superb voice and this song showcased it in spades!

Michael Johns
"Don't You (Forget About Me)"
Wow...for the second week in a row this guy, who I thought was one of the better singers during the early Hollywood rounds, disappointed a bit. Has he shot his wad already? I'm beginning to think perhaps he has.

David Cook
"Hello"
His guitar playing in the intro was horrid. That said, he picked it up later and I actually liked his "Lionel Ritchie gone grunge" take on this track. Not bad at all.

Jason Castro
"Hallelujah"
Pretty good job tonight on this endearing classic from the late Jeff Buckley. He did enough to keep himself safe for next week.

Chikezie
"All The Woman I Need"
Average. Lame. Just ok. As Simon called it..."cabaret."

The best of the night? Both Davids.

Who should go home? Danny and Luke.

Oh...and PS...what the HELL was Paula smoking tonight? Gawd, she was verbose!

Clinton Wins Ohio

NBC calls it. And it looks like it might be quite the blowout.

Snatching Defeat

Forget who might answer that "red phone" next year! The current president is still George W. Bush, and he's still an imbecile:

I appreciate the fact that [Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno] really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who were trying to defeat us in Iraq.

John McCain (BushBitch-AZ)

Bush's little bitch, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, has clinched the Republican Party nomination for president tonight, with primary victories in Rhode Island, Vermont, Ohio, and Texas.

He will have lunch with President Bush tomorrow, where the current chief executive is expected to ask, "Who's Yer Daddy?"

McCain is making his long-winded speech as I type this, and if I hear him say "my friends" one more fuckin' time I'm gonna throw something at the TV.

One More Time

If yesterday's backdoor endorsement of McCain didn't lead you to a total rejection of Hillary Clinton then perhaps my endorsement of Barack Obama, posted last month, might persuade you. To read it, click here.

Drinking the Kool-Aid

Several new polls show Democratic voters in Texas drinking the Clinton Kool-Aid:

Reuters/C-Span:
Clinton 47%
Obama 44%

Insider Advantage:
Clinton 49%
Obama 44%

WFAA/Belo:
Clinton 46%
Obama 45%

It makes me wonder if the former First Lady's vicious and smarmy attacks have worked in stopping Sen. Obama's momentum. Yesterday she practically endorsed the Republican candidate over her fellow Democrat should she lose the nomination. And if she thinks I want to vote for a Joe Lieberman-esque wench this November, she better think again!

One bright spot in polling news...SurveyUSA, who has been spot-on during most of the primary season, has Obama up 1-point in Texas:

Obama 49%
Clinton 48%

And Markos, who has been on a roll lately, is predicting a blowout for Obama in Texas. I think he's over confident but a guy can hope, can't he?

My gut still tells me Clinton will win both Ohio and Texas tonight. Of course I hope I'm wrong. That said, she would need at least 62% of the popular vote in both states to catch up to Obama in the delegate count. I don't see that happening. But even a small victory in both states will give the illusion of yet another Clinton comeback, and this nomination race will drag on.

Ugh.

It's gonna be a long night.

The Disloyal Democrat

So much for a unified Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton, on the campaign trail today:

I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.

This is probably one of the most repugnant comments she has made during this campaign. For someone who has promised a unified Democratic Party once the nominee is chosen, Sen. Clinton handed the Republicans quite the sound bite, didn't she?

From AmericaBlog: Rachel Maddow's reaction to Clinton's remarks:

This is what you say if you want to be McCain's choice for Vice President. It is not what you say if you are running for the Democratic nomination.

And Keith Olbermann's gentlemanly response:

Unbelievable.

I, on the other hand, don't have to be such a gentleman.

Clinton's comments today were exactly the sort of snide remarks that, fairly in this case, cause people to look at her and think, "What a fucking bitch!"

Just as health care may be the issue that moves you solidly into the Clinton camp, or a patriotic progressive agenda the issue that puts you in Obama's column, Sen. Clinton's absolutely scuzzy campaign reinforces my contention that I cast the right vote last month. And I urge the voters in Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island not to nominate this woman for the presidency. After that little pro-McCain diatribe, I must say that I am ashamed she is a member of the Democratic Party.

If she is the nominee, myself and a slew of other Democratic-leaning voters will be in quite the quandary come this November (and no, that does NOT mean a vote for McCain).

Update: The Jed Report has the goods on Hillary's "experience"...

Peeing. My. Pants.

A brilliant new website that takes the Garfield out of "Garfield" - and it actually works, making Jon look all the more tragic.

It's absolutely fuckin' brilliant.

Click here and take a look.

Eye Candy: The 'Bangers & Mash' Edition

Who would have thought that it would be that geeky little tyke, Prince Harry, who would become so freekin' sexy...


...or that he'd have such a massive "banger." I mean day-yum...the boy is hung like a Shetland pony!

The Courage of Lawrence King

Well worth the read...this is an email from my buddy Don regarding the horrible murder last month of 15-year-old Lawrence King by 14-year-old Brandon McInerney. I post it here, in its entirety, because Don makes his points much more passionately than I ever could. To Don I say, "thank you, mi amigo." To my readers, I urge you to give it read...

On February 12th, an openly gay 15-year-old boy named Larry, who was an eighth-grader in Oxnard, California, was murdered by a fellow eighth-grader and 14-year-old boy named Brandon. Brandon shot Larry in the back of the head with two bullets. Larry was a foster child and had recently come out of the closet as gay to his classmates. Brandon murdered Larry because he was gay.

Days before he was murdered, Larry asked his killer to be his Valentine. The idea that Larry - another boy and a homosexual - would want to be his Valentine was so threatening and so awful and so horrific to Brandon, that killing Larry seemed to be the right thing to do.

Brandon’s defense attorney is already talking about this murderous attack as a “gay panic” response by Brandon to Larry’s affection for him. Just so I’m clear, a “gay panic” defense is used by defense attorneys when a straight person kills a gay person because they were so disgusted by the interest from the gay person that they snap psychologically. In essence, that’s like saying because I was so disgusted by someone of an ethnicity or religion different than my own expressing interest in me that I would be justified in killing them.

I was aware of this story, but this morning when I read the new information about Larry asking Brandon to be his Valentine, I broke down and wept at my computer. I wept for a child who was murdered for taking steps toward accepting himself. I wept for another child so blinded by the hatred and disgust for gay people that exists in our society that he took another child’s life. I wept for every young gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender child too scared to believe that they could ever experience the love and innocence of Valentine’s Day. And I wept for a world so consumed with hatred, ignorance, fear, and disgust for homosexuals, that it would lead one child to murder another child over a crush.

Larry is my hero. I sit here in awe of the strength and courage it took to begin to accept himself at the age of 15. The path to self acceptance as a gay person is challenging at best and too often leads to suicide for children and young adults.

I know Larry is in heaven right now with God, Harvey Milk, Matthew Sheppard, Simmie Williams, Jr., and the thousands of other gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who have been murdered in my lifetime because they dared to be themselves in a society which refuses to reject the hatred and fear that empower people to commit hate crimes against us.

The hate crime which resulted in Larry’s death is not an isolated incident. This month alone 17-year-old Simmie Williams, Jr. was gunned down in Florida in an apparent hate crime and a man eating at a restaurant in Florida with his partner was beaten by another restaurant patron for looking at him and saying hello. The attacker repeatedly used the slur “faggot” as he beat the man.

Every time someone uses a slur like “faggot”, every time someone perpetuates a gay stereotype, every time a politician uses gay rights as a fear tactic to get votes and campaign contributions or denies us our civil rights, every time a person of “faith” describes us as immoral and sinful, and every time someone is beaten or murdered because of their sexuality – another drop is added to the torrent of hatred and fear that floods our society and motivates in hate crimes.

And every time we personally sit back while any of these activities occur and fail to reject them – we are responsible too. We cannot bring Larry back, nor can we solve this problem overnight, but the next time you witness bigotry or hatred, in ANY form, fight it!

I encourage you to Google “Lawrence King” and “Simmie Williams” to learn more.