Today John Edwards is endorsing former competitor Barack Obama... It is a late endorsement, given when the horses are already in the home stretch, and one horse is the stronger runner long distance, but the other horse has more than a neck and neck lead, and also appears to be running on the inside track next to the rail. Clinton won over Obama by more than 2 votes to 1 … [Read more...] about Edwards Speaks: But Who Listens? Edwards Endorses Obama
Obama and Clinton– looking ahead for change
With near certainty now that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee, even doubters should accept that there is a fundamental current of change within the US to overcome the dark chapters of its history of racial discrimination. If he defeats John McCain in November, the message American voters will send to the world will echo Martin Luther King’s dream of having a … [Read more...] about Obama and Clinton– looking ahead for change
Bush’s Goodbye Tour of a Middle East in Crisis
So what's the global prognosis for George W. Bush's latest and last trip to the Middle East as President? Judging from this account from Le Figaro's Jerusalem correspondent Patrick Saint-Paul, one might diplomatically call European expectations "modest." The lede of Saint-Paul write-thru reads: "The American president could hardly have envisaged a more unfavorable … [Read more...] about Bush’s Goodbye Tour of a Middle East in Crisis
Ohio’s Swing State status intact w/Attorney General Marc Dann Resignation
As a swing state and vital win for whomever wants to be president in January 2009, Ohio took a strong step today in making sure it's ducks are in a row for the Democratic nominee with the resignation of Attorney General and Democrat, Marc Dann at approximate 4pm. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, one of the most frequently mentioned VP possibilities for the Democratic presidential … [Read more...] about Ohio’s Swing State status intact w/Attorney General Marc Dann Resignation
The 82% factor. Can’t we all just get along?
One of the more amusing, yet thought provoking, responses to recent news that 82% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track came from Rick Moran at Right Wing Nuthouse. Are you paying attention? 82% of your fellow countrymen think that America is a sucky place to live right now. Holy Jesus! You can’t get 82% of Americans to agree about anything. I’ll bet less … [Read more...] about The 82% factor. Can’t we all just get along?
Obama Focuses On Blue Collar Voters After West Virginia Primary Loss (UPDATED)
Democratic Senator Barack Obama apparently did feel the landslide of votes crushing against him in yesterday's whopping West Virginia primary loss to Senator Hillary Clinton: today he's out on the hustings, busily trying to shore up support among blue collar workers. It's a wise move, since Clinton, her supporters, and pundits will continue to talk about Obama's very real … [Read more...] about Obama Focuses On Blue Collar Voters After West Virginia Primary Loss (UPDATED)
Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide
The New York Times: The separation between the sexes in Saudi Arabia is so extreme that it is difficult to overstate. Saudi women may not drive, and they must wear black abayas and head coverings in public at all times. They are spirited around the city in cars with tinted windows, attend girls-only schools and university departments, and eat in special “family” sections of … [Read more...] about Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide
Dana Milbank Channels Monty Python
Namely, one of my favorite skits from the "Flying Circus," you know, the one with the dead parrot. Priceless. … [Read more...] about Dana Milbank Channels Monty Python
Its Over For Hillary (UPDATED)
John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri UPDATE by JG: So far there's no indication that Clinton feels its over. She's meeting with donors today and is making the rounds of a large number of television news programs on all the networks. Her victory speech in West Virginia vowed to fight on and angered some progressives because they felt she mischaracterized the race … [Read more...] about Its Over For Hillary (UPDATED)
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Attention, Men! And let's be clear here... I mean the "real men" out there. Not you wimpy, over educated, latte and wine cooler sipping Obama voters. I'm talking to the manly men who are far more likely to support Clinton or McCain. (TMV's female readers are politely invited to stop reading right now and go do some online shopping at Victoria's Secret.) There is a dark, … [Read more...] about Something Wicked This Way Comes
Should Obama Ask Clinton to Be His Running Mate?
Should Barack Obama choose Hillary Clinton to be his running mate? That's no doubt a question the Obama campaign is asking right now. And clearly, the Clinton campaign wants the New York senator to be asked to serve as Obama's veep. That's part of why Clinton is continuing her campaign and why today she's pressing fat cats and rainmakers for more money for pressing … [Read more...] about Should Obama Ask Clinton to Be His Running Mate?
Good Olde West Virginny: Wild, Wonderful, White Bread, Wacist . . . Or What?
I have a theory about West Virginia, the state with the "Wild and Wonderful" slogan and the first bearer of good tidings for Hillary Clinton since her accountant told her it was okay to lend herself another few million bucks in her quest to defy gravity. West Virginians aren't irredeemably racist as some commentators portray them, they just don't like any politician who is … [Read more...] about Good Olde West Virginny: Wild, Wonderful, White Bread, Wacist . . . Or What?
Endurance, The Word: A Lost Story
The word endure is from the Latin, indurare, and the Spanish, duro, meaning 'hard' or to ‘harden.’ But to endure, to develop endurance doesnt mean to be inert nor immovable nor brittle. Quite the contrary. To endure means to be hardened, as in being passed through the fire... as a steel blade is passed through fire to harden it... so that thus tempered, one remains … [Read more...] about Endurance, The Word: A Lost Story
Clinton’s West Virginia Primary Win: Significant Or Meaningless?
It had been predicted all week that Senator Hilllary Clinton would win the West Virginia primary by a whopping margin. Some said such a victory, highlighting flaws in front-runner Senator Barack Obama's coalition, could make Superdelgates think twice while others others said it would be too late. So what has changed? Media reports generally echoed this article by McClatchy … [Read more...] about Clinton’s West Virginia Primary Win: Significant Or Meaningless?
This Too Is West Virginia
This is a picture of a mountain in West Virginia. It has been mined for coal, which has been exported out of state to supply other states in the union, year after year for nearly 150 years. This is only one of many mountain tops that have been 'taken down' for mining purposes in West Virginia. Thousands of miners have died mining for coal to export to the rest of the … [Read more...] about This Too Is West Virginia
This Is West Virginia
This is West Virginia's Beartown State Park . It is 107 acres purchased in 1970 with funds from the Nature Conservancy and a donation from Mrs. Edwin G. Polan, in memory of her son, Ronald Keith Neal, who fought and died in the Vietnam War. West Virginia is a place of odd and delightful place names. Beartown State Park is located on the eastern summit of Droop Mountain … [Read more...] about This Is West Virginia
MS-01 Redux
Last time I reported on election results in the 1st Mississippi Congressional District, it was competing with the Pennsylvania Primary. The race went into a run-off, and today it competes for attention with the West Virginia Primary -- which Clinton won handily to no effect whatsoever. Just to review: the Mississippi 1st is one of the reddest districts in the country -- even … [Read more...] about MS-01 Redux
Strip-mine strategy
It seems fitting that Hillary Clinton will win West Virginia's Democratic primary. West Virginia is a state whose major industry is extractive and destructive, to wit, coal mining and these days, often by strip mining. So, in its tradition, Hillary proceeded by simply discarding the Black and educated "overburden" of the Democratic party and going right for those valuable … [Read more...] about Strip-mine strategy
NBC: Hillary Clinton Wins West Virginia Primary By Big Margin (UPDATED)
The polls in West Virginia have just closed and NBC quickly projected that Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton will win today's West Virginia Democratic primary by a big margin. On MSNBC, Tim Russert said Clinton will win the state by a two-to-one margin and hope that her big victory there will give wavering pledged delegates and superdelegates pause so that she can compete … [Read more...] about NBC: Hillary Clinton Wins West Virginia Primary By Big Margin (UPDATED)
Maker Faire 2008: Steampunk, Robots, Devil-Ettes and more…
The NYTimes: The muffin cars, electric-powered vehicles built to resemble cupcakes, scoot around the open spaces of the San Mateo Event Center & Expo, a sprawling fairground about 20 miles south of San Francisco and, on this day, a million miles from normal. Just inside the gates of the third annual Maker Faire, a converted fire engine belches an occasional explosive … [Read more...] about Maker Faire 2008: Steampunk, Robots, Devil-Ettes and more…